A New Legend
by Hapciuovici
Summary: This is my first story. What would have happened if Hiccup managed to leave with Toothless before his fight with the Monstruos Nightmare. Rated T for mild language and violence.
1. Freedom

**This is my first story. Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for the support.  
**

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After Hiccup defeated the Gronckle, he was declared the winner of Dragon Training and was given the honor of killing his first dragon, the honor to become a true viking, the honor to be the first of the teens to kill a dragon. Most of the villagers were happy with the chief's son being the winner of Dragon Training, thinking that he would be a strong and brave chief after his father and that he would bring glory and prosperity in Berk. But Hiccup knew that he couldn't kill a dragon and that the vikings were too stubborn to change their mentality after hundreds of years of fighting their worst enemies, the dragons.

So the best thing for him to do was to run away with Toothless and never return to the village of Berk, leaving everything behind and starting a new life somewhere where dragons aren't viewed as pests, or at least as archenemies. After the celebration was over, Hiccup sneaked to the forge to get his journal, some of his sketches of Toothless's tail and some inventions of his, and finally a weapon, preferably something light, like a dagger or a short sword. But he finally decided on a sharp dagger he made a few years ago. His next stop was the village's storage to get some fish for Toothless and some supplies for the trip.

After about a hour or so of preparing, he was near the cove where Toothless was hidden from the vikings. The cove was a very isolated place, it was perfect for hiding the dragon, he couldn't get out by himself and get hurt or even killed, because he wasn't as strong without his ability to fly. It also had a supply of fresh water for him and some fish which he would try to catch when he was hungry and Hiccup couldn't get him food; or even when he was bored and tired of sleeping. Hiccup slowly walked inside the cove with all the stuff that he brought with him. He scattered the fish he brought to eat, and then, after a brief moment, he said, "We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation. Forever."

Hiccup scattered the bucket with fish near the small pond inside the cove and he started preparing his flight costume. After Toothless started eating, Hiccup went to his tail and started mounting his new tail fin. When the dragon finished eating he started to get excited about their trip. A few moments after Hiccup finished preparing his tail, Toothless noticed the sadness in his friend and rider's eyes, he gently nudged his head into his arm, to make his friend feel better.

Hiccup noticed Toothless getting worried about him and in a sad and soft voice said, "I'm okay, bud..." Toothless didn't buy the lie and nudged again into his rider. Hiccup gave up trying to hide his thoughts and just said, "It's just that they only started to care for me after I became good at dragon fighting, they didn't give a crap about me before. I was just Hiccup the Useless, they never accepted me for what I was, they only cared about their traditions with killing dragons. I don't want to become one of them. You were my only true friend and if they would find you, they would kill you. We should just..." Hiccup stopped after he heard a small rock fall from the walls of the cove. Within a few seconds, Toothless jumped and grabbed the little intruder that was trying to sneak up on them but failed.

Without Hiccup even starting to understand that happened, Toothless was holding Astrid to the ground and he left out a powerful and intimidating roar. Astrid started panicking at the sight of the mighty Nightfury that was going to kill her and forgot about Hiccup who started to yell at Toothless, "She is a friend. You don't have to kill her! Get down you overgrown reptile!"

Toothless slowly backed off, but keeping his aggressive stance ready to attack at the first wrong move the girl was going to make. Hiccup quickly walked over near Toothless and looked at Astrid and yelled, "What in Thor's name are you doing, following me?"

Astrid was still shocked about what happened less than a minute ago and asked Hiccup with a very shocked voice and expression, "How did you manage to control this demon?" Toothless was obviously insulted at that question and let out a low roar that made Astrid feel a little worried about her life.

"He is not a demon, he is a dragon, a Nightfury, and he is my friend." Hiccup said trying to defend Toothless's honor.

"Hiccup, you must be insane to call a _dragon_ your friend!" She yelled at the young teen. Toothless slowly started to approach Astrid with a death look in his eyes. Hiccup noticed Toothless reaction to what Astrid said and slowly scratched Toothless's head. That made the Nightfury look at the teen and stop. Astrid also noticed the dragon's reaction and slowly asked Hiccup, "Can you control him?".

"No," He said promptly, "He has its own free will, I am just his friend and he will do his best to protect me." Astrid slowly nodded, beginning to understand the relation between Hiccup and the dragon. "Now why did you follow me?" He asked again.

Astrid panicked a little and said with a hesitation "I wanted to find out how you became so good at Dragon Training and how you managed to beat me." While she was saying this, she was slowly backing away from Toothless.

"Well, now you know." Hiccup said, "I learned everything I know from Toothless, he helped me understand dragons, or at least begin to understand them."

"How did you find him?"

"Remember that night when we were raided by dragons? When I told everyone that I hit a Night Fury? And all of you just laughed at me?" Astrid started to feel bad about that and slowly nodded in shame. "Well, the next day I went out trying to find him and bring his head to the village so that I would be acknowledged as a true viking. When I found him, I couldn't do it, so I freed him. And in return, he didn't kill me. The following days I tried to befriend him and I noticed that he couldn't fly. Then I realized that I maimed him. I felt horrible about that so I made him a new tail fin and started to train him. He is my only real friend that accepted me for who I am and didn't try to change me."

"Now what are you going to do?" Astrid asked a little worried about her fate being in the hands of the boy everyone made fun of. The boy that she didn't try to help, even if she knew it was wrong. The boy and his dragon.

"Well, I guess that we have to kill you" Hiccup said sarcastically, but Astrid was too panicked about how she was almost killed by his dragon, and she didn't catch the sarcasm in his voice and jumped for her axe that had fallen a few feet behind her. Toothless jumped after her preparing to attack the young teen when Hiccup yelled "For Thor's sake, I was joking!" Astrid already had her axe in her left hand when Toothless pinned her in the wall of the cove.

"Astrid," Hiccup slowly said, "throw your weapon down".

"Are you insane?!" she yelled while Toothless was giving her a death glare waiting for Hiccup to say that she was a problem. Astrid was preparing to hit Toothless with her axe and then she realized that Nightfurry was only trying to protect Hiccup from a stranger, not a stranger to Hiccup, but to the dragon. She figured that Toothless didn't trust her, which was kind of obvious, and then she did what she hoped was the right decision.

She let go of her axe.

Toothless looked a little more relaxed after she did that, but he still didn't back of, Hiccup slowly approached them and said with a smile, "I see that you two are finally starting to get along." Astrid yelled a little panicked but still trying to act tough, "Hiccup I will kill..." she was interrupted by Toothless's roar and then she slowly said, "Are you trying to get me killed?"

Hiccup smiled at what she just said and then patted Toothless on the head.

"She's a friend Toothless, let her go," Hiccup said looking at Toothless as he slowly backed and let the teen girl get up.

"Thanks Hiccup," she said catching her breath and still trying to look tough.

After a few moments of silence she remembered what she heard when he first talked to Toothless, about him going on a vacation. So she asked, "What did you mean when you said you were going to leave, forever?"

"Well..." he started, "I am going to leave with Toothless and never come back to this accursed place," He managed with a fake, sarcastic smile on his face.

"But you managed to command a..." Toothless looked angry at her. "... I mean, befriend a dragon. You can change the way vikings think about dragons. You can change our society. You can end the war with dragons. We have to tell you father!" She quickly said that, grabbed his hand and her axe, and tried to run with him to Stoick.

But he didn't move.

She tried to pull him and tell him how this could change the world. How Berk could gain a huge military advancement over the other villages. How he transformed from Hiccup the Useless to Hiccup the Dragon Rider.

After a few more tries to make him move, Hiccup finally yelled "STOP!"

Astrid froze in place.

Toothless looked surprised to his friend and the other teen.

"I am not going anywhere near that village ever again!"

"What?" she quickly answered.

"You heard me."

"Why?"

"Because... Because you didn't care about me until I won the Dragon Training. No one from the village cared about me until I won that stupid competition. You all made fun of me for being Hiccup the Useless, Hiccup the Screw-Up. None of you even tried to accept me for what I was."

"Hiccup..." she slowly said.

"NO! I don't want to ever go near that Odin's forsaken place again."

Hiccup then went to the rock where he was with Toothless before they noticed her and started preparing for their _vacation_.

Astrid was sitting shocked near the wall of the cove, looking at the two of them preparing to go gods' knew were.

"Where are you even planning to go?" she asked.

"I don't know." He answered promptly.

"What are you going to do to get food?" She asked.

"I have Toothless." He answered again.

"What do you even hope to achieve from running away?" She asked again, almost yelling the question at him.

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW! OKAY? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" He yelled turning around at her with anger in his voice. "WHY IN HEL'S NAME DO YOU EVEN CARE?"

Astrid was obviously hurt by what he said, more like the way he said it, and she answered with a sad, soft voice, "I am sorry about the past. I am sorry about how you were treated. I am sorry that I didn't even try to help you. And I know that you might never forgive us for that, but at least know that I _am_ sorry."

Hiccup climbed on his saddle on Toothless's back and he looked over at Astrid. "I'm sorry, but it's too late now," his voice was full of pain and sadness.

"At least take care and try not to get yourself in more trouble." She said with sadness, "Maybe. If you want, come visit the village from time to time. Maybe we will see that dragons aren't a threat. And then all of us can look up to you."

After a few moments of silence. He took off. Flying on his dragon to Thor's know where. Astrid only hoped that he knew what he was doing and that he would stay safe.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	2. Accommodation

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support.**

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A few hours later.

Hiccup sat with Toothless near him on an island in the archipelago. The island was small, smaller even than the village of Berk, only the village. But at least no one knew they were there. They would be safe there, for now.

Hiccup gathered dried wood for the fire from some fallen trees on the island, with the help of his friend, he made a fire to keep them warm and cook some fish. Hiccup tried to sleep, since he wasn't able to get any rest the day before. With Astrid, that delayed their trip and the fact that it was almost evening at the time they wanted to go. Toothless was going to guard them for the night, wanting the young teen to get some rest after the last few days.

After Hiccup woke up, he noticed two Terrible Terrors in a tree near their campfire, the Terrors just looked at them for some time. Soon the two Terrible Terrors started approaching the boy and his dragon. Hiccup was a little surprised seeing two wild dragons so peacefully approaching them, even if they never met before. One of the Terrors was mostly green, with a few red and brown spots over his head and back, the other one was mostly red with a few green and orange spots over his head and back. Then he noticed that the red one had a scar on its back, about half an inch. He started thinking that it could have been made by a blade, but also by a fang or claw. He wasn't sure.

Hiccup threw a cooked fish near the two small dragons wanting to see how they would react. They smelled it suspiciously and then after one of them tried to steal it, they started fighting.

Hiccup stood there with Toothless near him, not knowing what to do. Was he supposed to break the fight. Maybe they were just playing. But they looked funny. It was a funny view, two small dragons fighting over one fish. After they broke up a little, Hiccup approached them with two fishes, one for each. And he made sure that they both had one fish so they wouldn't fight again.

It was almost noon. Hiccup was thinking about exploring this island a little more, maybe there were some wild fruits here. Or maybe some lost treasure. The two Terrible Terrors followed him until he explored the whole island in less than half an hour. The red one seemed more eager to help Hiccup find something useful, the green one just wanted to burn stuff and disturb the peace. The island had nothing useful on it. He looked at the sky to see if there was a storm coming, but no, the sky was clear and blue as the water of the ocean.

Hiccup went back to the camp where Toothless was still sleeping, more like resting because he was lazy, and started to pack up. After he put his bag on Toothless saddle, he tried to wake up the cat-like reptile. Toothless didn't budge for ten minutes. He just wanted to sleep in the sun. Soon, the little Terrors started jumping and playing on Toothless's back. He tried to ignore them but they just wouldn't go, so he gave up the idea of sleeping and started to help Hiccup for their departure.

As they were preparing to go and explore another island, he noticed that the two Terrors were trying to get on Toothless's back, so they would join them. Hiccup put one of them in his bag and the other behind his neck. After they started flying the two Terrors started playing on Toothless's back, he wasn't too overjoyed about this, but the Nightfury was going to ignore this if they wouldn't cause any problems.

It wasn't long until Hiccup noticed a big island covered mostly by forest with a small mountain to the left side of it. He hoped that there might be a cave in the mountain so they could stay there a few days, maybe even more as the island was mostly covered by forest, surely there were some animals and wild fruits. What kind of animals will be soon determined. Soon, they were at the top of the mountain. Hiccup stood there for a few moments admiring the view, even on this small mountain you could see all the surrounding sea, you could even see some of the islands nearby, within a few hours of flying. This island should be a great place for a long time camp.

Now to more present business. He sent the two Terrible Terrors to find a cave, they were small, agile and he knew that they would come back to him since he was going to feed them, and nothing is more happy than a dragon that can eat, sleep and do nothing all day. He sent the green Terror to the base of the mountain, near the forest, which would have been a better place for a camp, because it was close to the forest so he wouldn't have to go a long way to find food and it would have been better covered by the trees and bushes. Or at least that is what he hoped. The red Terror went to search the sides of the mountain for any hidden cave, the mountain caves would offer him a great view of any ship that got near. So both places had their advantages and disadvantages.

After about one hour, the green Terror returned with a small bird in its mouth, which meant that there was food on the island and that was all that Hiccup wished for the time being. The red Terror that went to the mountain to search for a cave came back with some wild berries. Hiccup realized the scouting potential those dragons had. They could quickly cover a large amount of ground and they could bring stuff back to their trainer. He then followed the green Terror, which came from the forest level, because it was reacting like he had found what Hiccup was looking for. And lucky for him it was a cave. The cave was slightly covered by some bushes and a tree, it wasn't that hidden but at night it should provide enough cover. They walked inside the cave and the first thing that Hiccup noticed was a small tunnel went to the right, they followed the tunnel for about one minute until they reached the end of the cave. This was a great thing, he could make a fire at the end of the cave and the angle would make it almost impossible to be seen from outside. Hiccup then quickly sent the two Terrors to find some dried wood while he and Toothless would go find some logs so that they could make a fire and cook whatever meat remained from Berk.

In the morning, he noticed that the two Terrible Terrors were still following him so he thought about naming them. The two Terrors looked like brothers, they remembered him of Ruffnut and Tuffnut, always fighting over the most stupid things, but they were still pretty close. He named the green one Blad, as the green nature, and the red one Ild, as the fire. They seemed to like their new names. He just hoped that after naming them they wouldn't leave without notice.

After they had breakfast from the leftovers from last night, Hiccup took Toothless for a quick scan of the island. They flew over the island to make a better comparation with Berk. This island looked a little bigger than his home island, there didn't seem to be any wild dragons or any humans. They noticed a few boars in a small clearing in the forest, but no other animals. This place was perfect for a new home. If he would make a few small changes to his cave he could see himself living here for a few years.

Most of the days he was flying and hunting with Toothless. The Terrors gathered big supplies of small birds and berries, there didn't seem to be any other fruits. With the help of Toothless they gathered a big amount of wood in the cave, it was enough for them to last a few weeks. He had a lot of experience with leatherworking, since he was a blacksmith apprentice, so he managed to make himself a few leather flasks to hold water. There were a few places that looked like springs, so he had a big amount of fresh water, but some water at his camp didn't hurt. He had a lot of leather from all the boars that he hunted with Toothless. The dragons ate a lot.

One day he thought about making an bow. It was a weapon and he could hunt with it if Toothless got injured or sick. He could provide for the dragons. So he started looking in the forest for a piece of dead hardwood, about 4 or 5 feet long, but not old enough to be cracking. He had a few candidates, but most of them knots and limbs, so he threw those away. Hiccup finally found the piece of wood that he needed, it was from an oak. He then proceeded to mark the handhold of the bow, which he will later enforce with some leather stripes, and then he started to shape the piece of wood to be more flexible and to be the strongest at the handhold. After he finished shaping the bow he quickly went back to the cave to finish his weapon.

He started to make the notches at each end of the bow, not deep enough to destroy its structure, just enough to hold the string in place. He then got a rope from Toothless's bag and started to untie the strings of it. He then managed to get three thin threads from the rope, then he made a knot at the top notch of the bow, tying the strings to the bow, and proceeded to twist the three threads to make a stronger string while he got to the other end of the bow. Then he made a knot at the bottom notch and he finally had a weapon. He had made a bow alone in the wildness. Hiccup tested the string and frame of the bow to make sure it wouldn't break with a real arrow, made some final adjustments and he was ready to make some arrows. He placed the bow near the cave wall and went out again to find wood to make some arrows.

He was looking for some dried, straight sticks. He managed to find thirteen sticks that matched his bow. Then he quickly returned to the cave to shape the arrows and create a small notch at the end of each, to be accommodate the arrows with the string. After he shaped the arrows he started to sharpen them with his dagger. By the end of the day, he had a bow with thirteen arrows.

In the next morning he went practicing. It was somehow difficult for him to pull the string to its full potential, but he was hitting the targets, most of the time. He used trees as targets so he can get used to the bow, when he missed, the two Terrors would go and retrieve his arrows. They were really useful.

After two weeks, he thought he was prepared to try and hunt down a boar with his bow. Hiccup started to search the forest for some boars. He had his bow and a few arrows with him. He was prepared. He climbed a tree to get a better view. Then he quickly noticed two boars sleeping at the shadow of a bush. He positioned himself for the shot, he slowly got an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the string, he pulled the string until it touched his cheek. His heart was beating fast. This was the moment when he would kill an animal all by himself. This was the moment when he would do something that he never managed to do on any hunting trip with his father. This was the moment when would show the world that he didn't need Berk.

He released the string.

The arrow went flying trough the trees and hit a boar. The animal quickly woke up and started running. But he wouldn't get far, Hiccup thought, until the arrow felt from the boar on the ground and the animal just kept running.

Hiccup was shocked.

"How in Hel's name did this happened? How?" He was yelling while getting down from the tree and going to get his arrow from the ground.

He started to gather some pointy rocks. He was going to make some arrowheads for those damned arrows. He got the rocks and went back to his cave. He made a notch at the pointy end of each arrow and put the rock in the notch, after that, he secured the rock in the notch with some leather stripes he got from the boars that Toothless killed. Now he was ready. But the arrows seemed a little unbalanced. He would have to practice with his new arrows until he would go and kill a boar. Those damned creatures made fun of him and his arrows.

After just two days from creating the new and improved arrows and practicing with them, he went searching the forest for a game. He then noticed a few boars peacefully drinking from a small pound. This was revenge time, they laughed at his arrows and now he will kill one of them with his new arrows. He slowly placed an arrow on the string and pulled it until it touched his cheek.

He then released the arrow.

The arrow went flying hitting a boar and killing it without the boar ever knowing what happened. He felt the adrenaline in his blood. He was actually quite proud of himself. He managed to kill a boar with a weapon he created. And mastered. All by himself. Of course that the bow wasn't a new invention but the fact that he managed to create a bow and arrows for it and managed to score a kill was a lot for Hiccup.

This was only the beginning.

He now had a weapon and the skill to use it. He continued hunting for one or two boars per day. He didn't wanted to scare the entire population on the island, so that the boars would migrate to the other side of the island. But he was proud of himself. He was still a little amazed by his growing skill with the bow. He even tried shooting arrows from Toothless's back while flying. He actually had the potential to go and raid some ships or villages. Well, maybe. He wasn't a big fan of raiding mostly because he was bad at combat and if he would be separated from Toothless he would pretty much die.

After more than a month on that island, with all the practice with his bow, he wanted to find a bigger prey and kill it to prove to himself that he was a good marksman, even a better hunter. He was becoming bold. After all that time in Berk where he wasn't able to kill anything on a hunting trip, he wasn't able to hurt any living creature, now, he sits with a weapon he created, surviving alone in the woods. Well, not really alone, with a Night Fury, the offspring of light and death itself, and two Terrible Terrors.

But he could manage to survive alone, he had already killed a lot of wild animals, he had more than enough food to last for weeks, but with his dragons, this food would last five days at most. Those dragons ate a lot, mostly Toothless, I mean yes, he was big, but with all the food that he ate it was shocking that he still had his agility.

Without even noticing how time passed, they were on this island for almost six weeks. Almost six weeks since he left Berk and he was happy. Happy for not being the screw-up anymore, he had three dragons that accepted him for who he was, and cared for him. They were his friends now. At the beginning of the sixth week, he noticed a small ship in the distance, approaching the island. It was a small ship, sort of like the one that trader Johann used, maybe a bit bigger. Hiccup thought he noticed three persons on the ship.

He started to panic. _Why are they here? Who are they? Did my dad send them? Did they know I'm here with dragons?_ All those questions just made him panic more. _What if that was a scout ship from the Outcast? What if they recognize me? What if they bring me to Alvin, and just kill the dragons?!_

He had to take action. He equipped his bow and about twenty arrows and called Toothless. The adrenaline started pumping trough his veins. The dragon seemed worried about his friend and the way he was acting. They quickly got out of the cave and started approaching the shore. Hiccup and his dragons climbed a tree to have a better view of the place. After what seemed like an eternity, the ship stopped almost near the island and two of the sailors ashore with a boat. Hiccup looked at the ship to try to find out who owned it, from what island it came and where it was going.

After not more than fifteen minutes later, the two sailors reached the shore and pulled the boat on the beach, so it wouldn't be carried away by the waves. That meant they were going to stay for a while on his island. But who were they? They could be pirates? But not on such a small ship. Maybe it was a search party for Berk? No, it couldn't be, they wouldn't search for him more than two days, at most, they didn't care about him that much. Maybe Astrid convinced the others that dragons are not a threat? No, there were no dragons on the ship and why would they search him with a ship if they managed to make a peace treaty with the dragons?

Then he noticed that one of them was going in the forest while the other one started exploring the beach. Hiccup followed the one that was going in the forest. He had to know what they were doing here. He followed him until he reached a cave.

His cave.

Hiccup started to panic. If they found a fresh campfire in the cave that would be the end of him. They would know that someone was here. He had to stop him. He slowly climbed a tree, to get a better view, then he got the bow from his right shoulder in his left arm, placed an arrow that he made on the string, and pulled it slowly, watching the man approach his cave. He closed his right eye to have a better aim.

He was ready.

He released the string.

Then his mind was being filled with thoughts. _I can't kill a man. But he was trespassing What if he only wanted some food or water or even help, what if those men needed help? But what if he had a family? What if they are going to miss him? _Hiccup felt anger at the man and sadness at his decision. The arrow was slowly flying through the air, through the leafs and branches. _This is it. The arrow will hit him. _Hiccup tried to yell at the last second to warn the man. But it was too late.

The arrow went through his neck. He was choking on his own blood. He wasn't able to breathe. He fell to the ground, twitching for a few seconds.

Then he stopped moving.

Hiccup slowly approached the man. He was scared—no—_terrified_ to see what lied before him. A man in a pool of blood, the man HE killed. The man that Hiccup killed with a bow, not even in a fair fight. The man that was cowardly shoot with an arrow. Who knew what he was doing there? He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hiccup stood near the man, kneeled near him and tried to turn him over to see his face. _What if he was someone from Berk? What if he cared for Hiccup so that is why he was searching for him after such a long time?_ Hiccup started to sob. He started to cry for an unknown person he just killed.

He felt sick. Sick at what he just did.

What in Hel's name was wrong with him?

He never killed a man before.

He never tried to hurt a man before.

This couldn't be his kill. He couldn't have done this. This was not like him. This couldn't be his doing.

But there he stood. Near the lifeless being, not knowing if he meant well or harm. Not knowing who he was or what was he looking for.

Then he turned him on his back. He never saw that face before. But his eyes. Those brown, cold, dead eyes looked at him. Looking through his soul. He felt sick.

He started to feel dizzy. He couldn't see, everything was blurry. He was feeling his stomach rebel against him. He started to vomit on the ground, near the body.

Toothless approached him, followed closely by Ild and Blad. They all looked at what Hiccup did. Not judging him for this. Knowing that it was for the best. He did this to protect himself and to protect them. His dragon friend gently nudged his head into Hiccup's hand.

The boy looked at him, wiping the puke from his mouth, and he jumped and hugged the dragon. He was holding Toothless with all his strength, not letting go. Toothless understood that his rider needed this, a shoulder to cry on, and he would provide it without any hesitation.

Hiccup wanted to go home now, he wanted to tell his father what happened, he wanted a serious speech from his father, telling him that he did nothing wrong, that there was no other choice, that he did this to protect his friends, the dragons.

Then Hiccup snapped out of it. He knew that there was probably no one in the entire archipelago that made peace with the dragons, except him. He knew that he was going to get marked as a traitor and be executed with his dragons. With the only creatures that cared for him and accepted him. Anger started flowing through his veins. He could not let that happen. He could not let the other man discover that his comrade was killed by a walking fishbone with a bow, with three dragons. He had to find him and make sure he wasn't going to find out what happened. By any means necessary.

"NO!" He yelled. "We have to find the other one," the boy said to Toothless. "We can't let him find…this," he said looking at the body on the ground. Toothless nodded and started going to the shore.

Hiccup followed Toothless to the shore where the other man was. But he was gone now. The boat was still there. And the ship was still near the island.

"Shit," Hiccup said in a low voice. "Go and find him!" he whispered to Toothless as he was going to explore the beach. He approached the boat to see if there was anything that could tell him who those people were. Then he heard a voice.

"Are you lost kid?" He froze in place. "What are you doing here?" He heard the man asking again. He started to panic, wondering if he had already found the body if his comrade

"I..I...I..I just arrived here with my dad on a hunting trip, a few days ago." He said turning around to see a man in his thirties with a sword at his belt, already with his hand on the hilt, being prepared to attack if something provoked him.

"Then where is your dad?" he asked, "I want to talk to him." the man said while approaching Hiccup. " But first, what is your name kid?".

"My...my...my name is...is—" he said stammering.

"I don't have all day you little brat!" The man said while pushing Hiccup. The boy started backing away from him when he noticed Toothless sneaking up behind the man.

"My name is Fáfnir, I am a Dragon Rider." As he finished introducing himself the man laughed and tried to hit Hiccup with his sword, at which Toothless reacted by jumping and biting the man's hand. Breaking the bone in his hand. The man fell on his knees, yelling in pain, holding his arm. Hiccup slowly approached the man and asked him "What are you doing on this island?"

The man started to back away from Hiccup, trying to get away from the boy, but Toothless stopped him. He was so panicked, so scared, he was going to be killed by a boy with a black dragon. A dragon that no one ever saw before.

"We are here to...to hide the loot that we manage steal from a roman ship," the man answered.

"So you are pirates then?" Hiccup asked.

"Ye...Yes sir, we are pirates."

"So you managed to loot a roman ship with only three soldiers?" Hiccup asked with a sarcastic tone. He liked the position he was in. This man that lied before him was afraid of his power. Of his power to befriend dragons.

"H...how do you know there were three of us?"

"I only saw three people on that ship, you and one of your friends came to the island while the other one was on the boat to defend it in case something happened. I am right?"

"Y—yes sir."

"So what did you manage to steal?" Hiccup asked rather curios.

"Well... we didn't really looted a roman ship, it was more like a roman camp on an island not too far from here."

"Oh. I see. So, what did you steal?" The boy asked again trying to look intimidating and tough.

"Not a lot, it couldn't be worth more than a few silver pieces," he answered trying not to divulge too much.

"I won't ask again." Hiccup said in a calm but threatening voice, while Toothless, near him, started to growl while approaching the thief.

"We stole weapons, equipment and some supplies. That is all, I swear!" The man said almost yelling at the beast that was approaching him.

"Good," Hiccup said with a little smile, already having something planned in his mind. "How about a little trade?"

"Yes, of course, anything."

"You will give me a bow that you stole from the romans, if you stole more than one I would personally chose one, also, you will give me arrows and in return, I let you and your friend from the ship live. You like the sound of that?"

A bow and some arrows isn't a huge price for his life, the thief thought and immediately agreed with the trade. They got on the boat and Toothless pulled them near the ship, the man yelled at his friend on the ship to stay calm and that the boy and his dragon wouldn't cause any problems. After they reached the ship, the first man explained how the boy just wanted a bow and some arrows and he would leave them alone.

"Why in Hel's name should we give anything to this runt?" The second man yelled.

"Because this...runt," Hiccup said almost spitting the last word "...will kill both of you if you don't agree with our little deal." He said mostly calm, but they could feel his confidence in what he just said. Toothless was near Hiccup, his job there was only to look like a threat. So he did it's best in that manner and let out an angry roar.

The thieves were being intimidated by Hiccup, actually, more by Toothless. But the idea of a small viking that commands a dragon was something unheard before. The power that this boy possessed in his hands was unimaginable.

Hiccup was happy with all the power that he got from Toothless. He knew that he wasn't intimidating on his own, but he tried his best.

After sealing the deal, Hiccup mounted his dragon with the new equipment and flew to their main camp. He was happy that he managed to pull this trick on them. He knew he wasn't capable of killing anyone.

Then he remembered. The dead body just at the entrance of their cave. He started to have problems breathing. His heart started beating faster. He told Toothless to land fast because his vision had became blurry.

And so did the dragon. They landed in the forest near some trees, they were pretty isolated from the outside world.

Hiccup dismounted his dragon and felt to the ground. He was shivering. He remembered the cold look that the man gave him. His head was being flooded with images of his face. Of his eyes, his cold, dead, soul-piercing eyes. The eyes that marked him.

Toothless was near him, nudging his head into Hiccup's back, showing him that he was there, supporting him. Then he lied down near the boy, hugging him with his wings, bringing him closer, protecting him from the world.

Hiccup felt asleep in his dragon's arms. The next morning, after he woke up, he noticed that the ship was gone. He thought that maybe his comrades came and picked up the body. He hoped that, he really hoped that the lifeless man was gone. But after he reached his cave, he noticed the body laying exactly where it was a day ago. His comrades abandoned him, the life of a pirate or thief or whatever they were, was not an easy one.

Hiccup felt a little better than before, but not good enough to bury the body, or at least burn it. He asked Toothless to drag the body somewhere away from the cave. And so, the dragon did. After more than an hour, Toothless came back. It really took him a long time, but Hiccup thought that Toothless disposed of the body so he wouldn't have to look at him again and he was grateful for that.

He gave Toothless a pat on the head and thanked him for this favor, then he proceeded to cook some boar meat for himself and prepare the meat for the dragons.

This was an eventful day, too eventful for his taste, but at least he got good arrows and a new bow. A bow that was made by a skilled blacksmith with good materials, not with something that you can find in a day of searching the forest. This bow was created with the intention of being used in combat. It was perfect for the next step in his training.

He didn't start to hunt for a few days after the incident, but he had to gather some food for himself and the dragons, sure that Ild and Blad brought small birds and wild berries from time to time, but it was not enough for the four of them, so he had to provide and train. This new bow seems a lot easier to use than the one he made and a lot more powerful and precise at long range. And it was also smaller than his previous bow, so it was easier for him to sneak on wild boars and to maneuver through the forest.

It had been almost two months since he left Berk, almost two months since he talked to Astrid, there were no search parties for him. Maybe they looked for him for a few days on the island, maybe hoping they would find his body so they wouldn't worry about him coming back and screwing things up again. A part of him was happy with the idea that Berk was in the past. He never really wanted to see that cursed place again. But he missed Gobber, he missed his father somehow, and he missed Astrid. He still wonders sometimes if she told Stoick about Toothless and how he was leaving, or if she just kept silent in some final respect for him. After all, when they departed she told him the she was sorry.

Sorry for everything.

But it was all for the best, he thought, he was free now, he could have gone anywhere, do everything he wanted, he had no real responsibilities, he didn't have to worry about screwing things up, he didn't have to worry about being the son of the chief, how he would rule over the people that made him feel so miserable over the years. He was happy now, he was really free. No one insulted him for no reason, no one humiliated him just for fun, no one tried to beat him up just so they could feel better about their insecure lives. He had all the time in the world to himself.

A few days after. He was out, hunting. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, until he noticed a small boat slowly coming to the island. It was just a boat, with no ship nearby. It was weird, why would someone just travel with a dingy? It couldn't hold more than one person and very little supplies. But from where it came? There were no islands close to this one from that direction. It would take about three to four hours until the boat reached the shore. Time was on his side now.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**

**And also, the name Fáfnir was the only thing that I found dragon related about the viking culture, but the story is not be connected to the legend.**


	3. Departure

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support. And also thank you guys for the suggestions and for the reviews. ****It really helps boosting my confidence in this story.**

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Two months earlier.

After Hiccup flew with Toothless, Astrid just stayed at the cove for a few hours, just staring at the sky, hoping that Hiccup would come back, hoping that he would realize that this was a mistake and that he would panic and come back.

He never did.

When she arrived home her parents were already sleeping, she knew that they would have to talk in the morning and she wasn't looking forward to it, but she didn't want to make them more mad than they already were, so she sneaked into her room through the window. She really wasn't looking forward to the next day, but there wasn't much she could do, so she tried to sleep.

Morning finally arrived. She didn't really managed to get any sleep, she was thinking about Hiccup. She heard her mother walking up the stairs so she prepared herself for the worst. Her mother entered her room and asked her promptly, "Do you know where Hiccup is?" She was taken by surprise by this question, she was expecting to be yelled at for staying out until midnight, not helping her mother with dinner and stuff like that. But no, they just had to ask her this.

"No, I haven't seen him since he was declared winner." She lied. Astrid Hofferson just lied to her mother to protect a boy who betrayed their traditions and their village, she was in a lot of trouble and she knew it.

Her mother sighed, "Get dressed. After that, come down. We need to talk," she said before leaving the teen in her room.

Astrid didn't like the sound of that, she didn't like it at all. She hoped that it wasn't that serious, I mean come on, this wasn't the first time she stayed late and didn't help her mother cook dinner, it couldn't be that serious. Or could be? She was the last person to see Hiccup, but she wasn't sure they knew that, she hoped they didn't. Either way, if she told them now about Hiccup's betrayal she would have been in trouble for not telling them earlier, but if she didn't and they would found out that she was hiding valuable information, she would have been a lot more trouble.

She could run.

Just jump out the window and try to follow Hiccup. But he had a dragon and she didn't. It would have been hard, but she could still try.

Astrid snapped out of it when her mother called her down again.

She started walking slowly down the stairs to see her parents. Stoick, Gobber and even Spitelout, the second in command after Stoick, where there. This was bad.

It was very bad.

Astrid tried to stay calm as she slowly approached her parents and the vikings. After a little hesitation, she asked, "What is the chief doing here? I didn't do anything wrong did I?" but she let a little panic slip through her voice. She was in big trouble.

"We are here to talk about Hiccup, you were the last one to see him." Stoick said. Astrid started to turn pale. _He knew. They knew. No. They _couldn't. She made sure no one was following her. But she was angry then, maybe someone slipped unnoticed.

She started to stutter, not making any words, just noises, her chest started to hurt, she couldn't breathe. Hiccup. He managed to ruin her life. _Was this his revenge? Did he planned this? Did he planned to get her executed for aiding a traitor?_

"Astrid." She snapped out of it, the pain was still there, her heart rate was increasing, she turned to the vikings and noticed that they were all staring at her, judging every move she made. _Is this how Hiccup felled all those years?_ No, to him it was worse, they made fun of him, insulted him. She wasn't insulted.

"Astrid, we need to know what you said to Hiccup last time you saw him and where you saw him!" Stoick almost yelled at the young teen.

She couldn't say a word. She wanted. But only undistinguished noises came out of her mouth.

"You know that you would have to be punished for not cooperating with the chief on such an important matter?" Spitelout asked her. She couldn't say anything. After almost a few minutes, she asked for water. Her mom brought her a mug filled with water. She slowly started drinking from the mug when she finally spoke.

"Last time I talked to him we were at a cove in the forest."

"And you didn't told us about this because...?" Spitelout asked her with a mocking tone.

"Be...Because he was there with a dragon." She forced the words out of her mouth almost yelling. The pain in her chest slowly started to fade, but her heart rate was still high.

"WHAT?" Stoick yelled at her. Astrid flinched. "So he was killed by one of those spawns of Hel's?" He was still yelling at the poor teen.

"No..." Astrid almost whispered, "The dragon attacked me, the dragon tried to protect Hiccup from me."

"What in Hel's name are you talking about child?" Her mother asked her.

"The dragon listened to him, obeyed what Hiccup said."

"You lie!" Stoick said promptly "This can't be true! YOU LIE!" He yelled. Astrid started sobbing, she was now afraid for her life, she didn't cared about her honor anymore. She just wanted this conversation to end and everything to return to normal. But it was too late for that now. Things could never return to normal now, not for her anyway.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Spitelout asked, not believing the words that she spoke a few seconds before.

"I was afraid." She answered shortly, trying her best to not break down in front of her parents, in front of Gobber, in front of Stoick, the chief of the village. She was now staring at the floor, quietly sobbing , not even trying to make eye contact with anyone in the room. She was ashamed, she was sad, but most of all, she was afraid. The strong Astrid Hofferson was afraid of being publicly executed.

"Do you know where he is now?" Stoick asked her.

Astrid slowly said, "No." Stoick sighed. He was angry. Angry at her, angry at Hiccup. But she wasn't worried about Hiccup right now. She was more worried about her life.

"Astrid, can you leave us a few minutes?" Astrid's dad asked her. She nodded, getting up from the chair she stood and walking back to her room, quietly sobbing.

This was bad.

This was very bad.

Astrid entered her room, closed the door, and then she sat on her bed, with her hands on her face, crying. Astrid was crying.

This was not the future she had been promised.

She was supposed to become a great shield-maiden. A great warrior. A strong and brave soldier.

This is not what she saw in her future. This could very well be her last week. And she was _afraid_. She hated the fact that she was helpless. There is nothing left to do now. Only to wait. Maybe they will forgive her. Maybe they would let her stay on Berk cleaning the Great Hall, or cooking food for all the viking who ate there. At least she would be alive, humiliated but alive. Or even if they were going to execute her, she hoped that at least it would be fast, she was horrified of the Blood Eagle. God's she hated the Blood Eagle. It wasn't fun when someone is executed in that way, there is blood everywhere, and the screams, and how they stop, not because the victim was dead, no, but because the victim couldn't breathe anymore with his or hers lungs crushed.

Why was she thinking at this. That didn't really helped her to calm down, only made things worse for her. The Blood Eagle was used only for archenemies and for high treason.

Shit.

She helped Hiccup, which allied with the dragons, so that means that she indirectly helped the dragons, their archenemies. Things looked bad. Really bad. But she was the best teen viking, that had to count for something, right? Right? Her father was in the council, so things can't go that bad.

She started pacing around the room, talking to herself, her heart rate was still high, she was still anxious. "Shit. This is bad, this is very bad." She was so frightened about the possibility of her execution that she even stopped crying. "Fuck. Please no, everything but that. For Thor's sake just not the Blood Eagle."

Things really looked bad for her. She helped and protected a person that committed high treason. God's, she really hated Hiccup right now. "I am going to kill that son of a half troll, that..." and the door opened.

Her mother was crying at the door.

Oh no.

Her mother told her to come down to hear the punishment that she was going to receive.

Astrid was nervous. Very nervous. She didn't even tried to hide that. She sat on the same chair she stood before.

Everyone was staring at her. Her mother was crying. After a short break she noticed Stoick talking to Gobber. She was panicking. She started to whisper to herself, "Please not the Blood Eagle. Please not the Blood Eagle. Please not the Blood Eagle. Please not the Blood Eagle."

Stoick noticed that and interrupted her "What are you saying?" Astrid flinched. She quickly responded, "Nothing, sorry chief."

"Astrid," Gobber prompted, eliciting a response.

After few moments, she answered the call, "Please, not the Blood Eagle."

They all stood in silence. Then Stoick said, "So you know that you have helped a person accused of high treason, accused of helping the dragons?" Astrid nodded.

"And you know that we can't just let this slip pass us?" Astrid nodded. Things were bad. Things were getting worse by the second.

"And you know what is the punishment for high treason?" Astrid slowly nodded. Knowing that things were really out of control, starting to accept that she would have a slow and painful death.

"Therefore, by the laws of Berk and the traditions of our viking heritage, I, Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligans, banish you from the tribe, until you manage to kill and bring back...Hiccup's head!" he said, forcing the last words out of his mouth.

Astrid was shocked.

Things ended up in her favor.

She wouldn't die.

She was going to be alive. She was going to catch the end of the week.

_She wasn't going to die!_

She was so happy that she was only banished from the island.

Wait.

She was going to get banished. She would never be able to see her parents again, or her friends. Until she killed Hiccup. But did she want to kill him? Why not only bring him back? So that he could have a fair trial.

Things were still looking bad. She was not going to die by the end of the week. Well, maybe. She was going to have to leave the village by nightfall. She had a lot to pack. She was never going to see her parents again...

Maybe it would have been better if she was going to get executed, that way at least she would died at home, on Berk, not in some gods forsaken place trying to find Hiccup.

After the vikings have left their house, she went to Gobber and asked him to sharpen her axe and her dagger, for one last time. She was going to miss this place. She was loved here. After all the hard work she had done over the years, she was respected here. And she was going to leave this place. Her home.

She said her goodbyes to everyone in the village, but she had the hardest time saying goodbye to her parents. They raised her to be a viking. They raised her to be strong. They raised her to kill dragons. But she was afraid. She was afraid of facing Hiccup. He had dragons, he had a Nightfury of all dragons. She couldn't defeat a Nightfury. So she was pretty much banished forever.

After a few hours she finished packing some clothes, some armor, one extra dagger in her bag and some food. She had a fur cloth on her back, carried her axe in her left hand, bag in her right, and the dagger almost hidden in her left boot.

She went to the docks, where she saw what was going to take her away from home. A small boat with space for only one person and some supplies. The boat also had two paddles. She started rowing, slowly departing from the isle of Berk, slowly departing from her home to the gods know where.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.** ** This is a short chapter, most chapters will have around 4000-5000 words, but from time to time, there will be this kind of chapters to fill the story.**


	4. Opposite

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. And also thank you guys for the reviews.**

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Present day.

Hiccup just arrived at the cave and called Toothless. The dragon woke up, slightly worried about his rider and followed him.

"There is a boat coming to us. I want you to stay hidden in the trees and charge if something goes bad. Now, go and find Ild and Blad and tell them to stay hidden as well." Hiccup couldn't be taken by surprise this time. He walked toward the beach and hid in the forest. He had his new bow with him and about fifteen arrows. More than enough in case something went wrong.

And he waited for the boat to arrive.

While the boat was getting closer to the island, he noticed a small person inside. The individual wasn't very tall and seemed thin. _Maybe a young viking, or a hiccup_, he thought, looking at himself. But he wasn't a hiccup anymore, not psychologically at least. He learned how to hunt out of necessity. He protected his house from intruders. He even killed a man. If he returned to Berk now, he wouldn't be treated like a _hiccup_. He wasn't going to be the best viking, but at least he wasn't a screw up anymore.

Finally, the boat arrived. He noticed a young female getting off the boat. She had blonde hair, Hiccup thought that she had blue eyes and she was wearing a large fur cloak that covered most of her body, she also had some fur boots and a small hood that covered her head. She was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Astrid. He was starting to wonder if he would see her again. Then he thought about taking action, not letting this person prepare for a confrontation since he noticed an axe on the boat.

"Who are you?" He yelled, revealing himself, preparing his bow to shoot if she tried something.

"That is none of your god damned... Hiccup?" She was shocked to see the young man that almost got her killed a few months ago.

"Astrid? Wha... What are you doing here?" The boy asked lowering his bow. He was happy to see her after so much time, but he was also confused by her presence here, on his island.

"What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here!?" Astrid asked him almost yelling in excitement to see him again. To see a friendly face after so much time.

"I live here."

"You live here? Since when?" She asked.

"I arrived at this island two months ago."

Then they stood in silence.

"So...So, what happened since I left?" Hiccup asked trying to start a conversation.

"I don't really know Hiccup, I was too fucking busy worrying about my life, you know?" Astrid was getting mad at him, he had to remember her about how he left and what happened after that, almost when she started to accept how things were. This was not going good. He just met her after two months and she was already mad. They were off a great start.

"Why? What happened?" Hiccup asked a little worried.

"What happened? I am going to tell you what the fuck happened. I helped you. That's what happened!" Astrid was yelling at the boy while she was gesturing with her hands thinking that this would send a better message.

"Bu...But you didn't help me with anything." Hiccup was now more confused than before, she actually never really helped him, she just ignored him for the most time on Berk.

"I let you go. And because I felt bad for you, I tried to protect your little secret and they didn't like that. They didn't like that one bit." she was still gesturing trying to enhance her explication.

"Then what happened next?" Hiccup asked.

"They wanted to execute me for helping a traitor." Well, Hiccup left for one day and he was already a traitor. Things were a lot better than he expected. Now he was almost certain that he would never be able to return to Berk even if he wanted to, but _why_ would he want to? The only problem with him being marked as a traitor was the possibility of them trying to find and capture him and then kill him slowly. He wasn't really okay with that idea.

"Wait, what?" Hiccup asked rather surprised after the moment he took to clear his mind "They wanted to execute you?"

"YES!" She yelled "And only because you committed high treason and I helped you. I had to follow you to that stupid cove and find out about your dragon. This is all your fault!" she said while pointing at him at the last statement.

"Sorry for not being able to be the punching bag of the entire village, so that you could be happy." He said sarcastically trying to light the mood.

"AND NOW THEY BANISHED ME UNTIL I KILL YOU!" She yelled at him.

"That's okay, I can help... Wait, what? They sent you to kill me?" Now things were really taking a turn for the worse, as if that was possible.

"Yes," she said, staying near her boat, trying to calm herself.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked a little worried about his safety.

"I really don't know. It's our fault for ignoring you, so you were forced to befriend that dragon and commit high treason, but it's my only chance to see my parents and Berk again," She said, weighing the decisions that she had to make. Her family and friends, or some runt that did nothing but cause trouble.

"Well, if you want to kill me I am going to ask you to leave."

"And what if I don't want to leave?" She asked mocking his guts while putting a hand on her hips.

"Then _I_ am going to have to kill _you_." He answered promptly.

"And what makes you think that you can defeat me?" Astrid asked, almost laughing at him, getting her axe, preparing to charge at him. Hiccup made a signal with his hand and Toothless jumped from a tree, landing near the boy.

_Oh_.

She had forgotten about that. This was a mistake. She should've not angered the boy with the dragon.

"And if I don't want to kill you?" She asked, with a fake smile while lowering her weapon. She hoped that he wasn't mad at her, hoped that she didn't made things worse. She was in dangerous waters. And she knew that.

"Then you are free to join me at the camp and talk about what happened in the last two months." Hiccup said still trying to be friendly and help Astrid. She was alone for two months. He knew that she could handle herself, but he was worried about the psychological damage of her being alone, of a human being alone for too much. He had Toothless and the Terrors, but she had no one.

"Yes, that would be nice." She said while getting her bag from the boat and picking up her axe. She followed the boy.

They walked for about five minutes. Neither one of them said a word. They were walking in silence. After they arrived at Hiccup's cave, Astrid noticed a big pool of dried blood near the entrance.

"What is with all this blood here?" She asked curiously.

"Let's not talk about that yet, I am still not comfortable with those events." She found that weird, but she accepted the fact that he was not content with her being around, so she didn't insist on the problem.

They entered the cave, Astrid noticed a fireplace at the end of the cave and something that looked like a sleeping bag. She also noticed two Terrible Terrors following them, but she assumed that they were friendly since they didn't try to attack her or Hiccup.

"It's not much, but it's home. Toothless sleeps near the left wall, where you can see burn marks on the ground, Ild and Blad sleep near Toothless, so you can put your sleeping bag almost anywhere you want. And if you want water I have a few flasks filled near the wood pile."

"Thanks." she said with a small smile "So the two Terrors are Ild and Blad? Which is which?"

"Ild is the red one and Blad is the green one, they have proven themselves useful, they managed to catch birds and collect wild berries and they are also pretty good at scouting."

"That's good to know." She said while dropping her sack near the fire and preparing her sleeping bag. They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"So, how did you manage to get here?" Hiccup asked trying to start a conversation.

"Well, I was just moving from island to island hoping to find a small village and start a new life, or even a mercenary camp and become a sell-sword. How about you?"

"I arrived at this island about two months ago, I made myself a bow and started hunting wild boars. I also managed to hit flying birds, so I got pretty good at it." He said proudly.

"Can I see your bow?" She asked being a little surprised that Hiccup managed to kill something with a weapon he made, knowing how clumsy he was.

"Sure." Hiccup handed her his bow and within a few seconds from looking at it she noticed it was a roman bow. How had Hiccup managed to get a _roman_ bow?

"Hiccup, you know this is a roman bow, right?" His face dropped when he remembered what he had to do to get this "How did you managed to get something like this?" She asked. Astrid noticed the sudden change in his mood, but she didn't care, this was serious, he could get both of them in huge trouble if he raided a roman ship or camp. Which wasn't so unbelievable, after all, he had Toothless.

"I...I had to kill someone for it," he said with a very depressed expression. Astrid laughed. He wasn't expecting her to buy that story, right? She knew that Hiccup couldn't hurt a person, but killing one, it was ridiculous.

"Hiccup, you don't expect me to believe that, do you? You couldn't hurt a dragon when it wanted to kill you and you expect me to believe that you killed a person for a silly bow?" The boy was still sad, he didn't care about Astrid believing him, he was still affected by the person he killed, by his cold eyes. "Hiccup?" Astrid slowly said, noticing that he was really affected by something, she knew that the first person killed always had a strong effect on people, but seeing this, she felt sorry for disbelieving the boy and insulting him. It was still shocking that Hiccup managed to kill someone and he didn't even look physically hurt.

Toothless also noticed. He noticed that Astrid made his boy cry, he noticed that she had made the boy mad again. He would not stand aside while someone made Hiccup mad, she had to pay for this, so the Nightfury started approaching Astrid giving her a dead glare, he really wanted to hurt her for making Hiccup suffer again.

"Hiccup I am sorry. I didn't mean it like an insult, I...I just didn't believe you had the will to do something like that."

Hiccup trusted her, after two months finally he trusted her enough to let her sleep at his camp and she already failed him. The fact that Toothless was angry at her wasn't really helping. The dragon was almost near Astrid, but the girl was more worried about Hiccup than about the dragon.

Before Toothless managed to hit Astrid, Hiccup calmly said, "Toothless stop. She didn't knew about that, I will get over it one day. Just...Just leave her alone." The dragon stopped, then he moved behind Astrid to make the girl be more careful about what she said. Then Hiccup turned his back to her and tried to get in his sleeping bag and forget about that horrifying event.

"This is the end of that conversation," Astrid whispered to herself while she was trying to get her cloak off and get in her own sleeping bag, but Toothless nudged her.

"What do you want?" She asked quietly, trying not to disturb Hiccup. The dragon nudged her again and then looked at the exit of the cave. "You want me to follow you?"

Toothless nodded and then walked to the exit of the cave. Astrid could hear Hiccup quietly sob, trying not to disturb anyone. She felt bad about this, after a few moments, she followed Toothless outside the cave.

When they both exited the cave, Toothless pointed at the dried blood near the entrance. "Are you going to show me who Hiccup killed?" She asked softly and the dragon nodded.

They walked through the forest for twenty minutes. It was dark outside and the fact that she never saw this place before didn't help. If it wasn't for Toothless, she would be lost by now, she just hoped that he knew where they were going. She thought that Toothless dragged the body so far away from the camp so that Hiccup wouldn't have to deal with it. "You really are a good friend, aren't you? I am thankful that you took care of Hiccup for two months. But why did you drag the body so far, you could just burn it, you know?" Now she was trying to get on some common ground with Toothless, since the last time they met things didn't go so well.

Finally they arrived at a small pit. There was a body inside that pit with an arrow through his neck. The scent was horrible. She just looked down at the decaying body. It wasn't a nice view, she unconsciously petted Toothless on the head. The dragon felt outraged by this and roared angry at her.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to, I just... sorry." Toothless ignored her excuses and turned around to go to the cave. She followed him. After they arrived, she just got in her sleeping bag, covered herself with her fur cloak, and tried to sleep. She was hoping that Hiccup would feel better in the morning. Maybe he would even forgive her.

When she woke up she noticed the two Terrors staring at her. She wasn't surprised to be viewed with distrust after what happened last night. After all, she was the new face here and she already made the "chief" mad.

"Hello," she gave each one a look. "You must be Ild, and you Blad." She tried to pet them, but they just ran away. That was sad, she was alone for the last two months and after she managed to find Hiccup, she screwed things up. His dragons didn't like her, maybe he was going to ask her to leave. She just wanted to be accepted somewhere. She stood up and started her morning exercises, after about twenty minutes she wanted to get her axe from near the fire, but it wasn't there. _Hiccup must have took it, not trusting me after I told him that I have to kill him. I can't really blame him for that. _Then she turned around and noticed the Nightfury holding her axe under his paw.

"Hey Toothless," she said quietly, trying to wake the dragon. "Do you mind giving my axe back?" Toothless half opened one of his eyes then he turned his head the other way. "Don't be like that, I need that axe to protect myself." She said again, trying to show her calmness, but she was getting angrier by the second. Her father gave her that axe. It was in the family for five generations, now it's under a dragon, it was stolen from her by Toothless and he wasn't about to give it back. "That axe is very important to me, it's the last thing I have from my parents. Can you just give it back? I promise not to hurt Hiccup with it!" She said again almost yelling.

Then Hiccup got back to the cave.

"Astrid, I see you're up, how did you sleep?" Hiccup asked.

"I was fine until your dragon stole my axe. Can you tell him to give it to me?"

"Are you going to kill me with it?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.

"Hiccup, if I wanted to kill you then I would have done so last night and by this time I would have been..." Hiccup interrupted her.

"Maimed by Toothless who would have killed you slowly enjoying every moment of it. Don't underestimate a Nightfury. And don't try something stupid that you will regret." the boy coldly said not even looking at her. He was threatening her, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was threatening her, he was not the son of the chief anymore and he had the guts to do that. So what if he had a dragon? She could still defeat him in a fair fight. But then she would be killed by his dragons and she wouldn't be able to see her parents again because she would be dead.

"I could still defeat you in combat and you know that! That's why you hide behind you dragons all the time, you are too afraid to take matters into your own hands!"

_Oh no._

In those two months she forgot everything about human interaction, she needed him and she was insulting him. It's almost like she is trying to get herself killed or banished again.

She recoiled quickly, "Hiccup, I'm so sorry, I was mad and I didn't mean it. I..." and yet again her attitude got the best of her and she might die in a few moments.

"Why did you come here?" Hiccup asked her. He was sad, he wasn't facing her, maybe to not show her that he is still weak. He was not the same he was two months ago, but he was still a hiccup. The only power he had came from his dragons. But he won that power, he won the right of befriending dragons by sheer power of will. That made him stronger than everyone else. But he felt weak.

"I was hoping to start a new life, after I had been banished from Berk." She answered honestly, trying to mend their relation.

"When I first saw you, I was happy, I thought that someone was still searching for me, still caring for me. But you were just lost. You were searching for me but for a very different reason. Even after you told me that, I tried to help you, I tried to protect you. You had been alone for two months, I had been alone for most of my years and I know the pain. Trust me, I do. So why do you try to insult me and threaten me after I just tried to help you?"

He was right, he didn't deserve that. She didn't deserved to be helped by the person she ignored most of her life.

"Can I please have my axe back? I will be out of your hair soon enough." She spoke, accepting that she screwed things up beyond repair this time, the only friend she could possibly have now hated her. After just one day he hated her. She didn't want to return to the loneliness. She didn't want to return to the calm and silent sea. She just wanted to have a place to call home. But she was too stubborn to accept help from the only person that had the possibility of helping her.

"You are not going anywhere," Hiccup sighed.

"I don't want to make you suffer. I never helped you. You were doing fine until I came here. I don't want to be a burden. " the girl said while looking on the ground, starting to pack things up.

"Then don't be. Go and hunt. Teach me how to fight. Help me protect the dragons." Hiccup said, turning to face her. He was still sad, but it seems that he had thought a lot about this offer.

"I will make you miserable..." Astrid quietly said.

"That is not important, I don't want to put another person through what I have been for years in Berk."

"Hiccup please don't try to sacrifice yourself for me. Not after everything that happened."

Toothless was sitting in a corner with Astrid's axe in his mouth watching the conversation the two teens had. _It was oblivious that Hiccup had feelings for the girl, but I am not so sure if the girl feels the same, this might lead to problems. Why do you want to protect her Hiccup, after she made you suffer all those years? Why?_

"I will put Toothless to break your legs so you can't leave." Hiccup said with his sarcastic tone.

Astrid was silent.

There wasn't anything else she could say, maybe she would try to sneak away at night so she wouldn't see the boy suffer for her. This is all just wrong. Hiccup is a nice guy, he didn't deserved most of the things that happened to him over the years. His father marked him for high treason. All the people on Berk insulted him. Not even the other teens tried to be friends with him. He just had a terrible life, this could be his only chance to be happy, to live with dragons and train them, and she was just an obstacle in his life and to his happiness.

Toothless realized that Hiccup needed Astrid, as a proof of his progress, as a proof that he got over Berk. Hiccup had a crush on Astrid, that was no mystery, but Toothless was afraid of Astrid, of her capacity to damage his rider, _his friend_. He was not sure if he should help Hiccup with Astrid, or make her leave and take care of Hiccup on its own.

"Astrid, I need to help humans understand dragons and for that I need to be a good fighter, so I can protect the dragons and myself. You were one of the best vikings in Berk and I believe in your ability as a fighter. I can train you to understand dragons if you want, but I need your help." As Hiccup finished his little speech, Astrid's face started to light up a little.

"Do you really need my help?" she said while looking at him. Looking hopefully in his eyes, trying to be sure that he wasn't lying just to make her feel better.

"Yes." his eyes were telling the truth. And with that Astrid jumped to hug Hiccup. Toothless was scared by her sudden move and tried to jump to block Astrid. In the end, he managed to knock both of them down.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.** **I know that I am not the best writer out there, so if you don't understand some ideas or if I made some mistakes explaining stuff, please point the problems out or ask me about them.**


	5. Storm

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. And also thank you guys for the reviews.**

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Hiccup was actually looking forward for their training. He could finally learn how to defend himself if needed. His archery skills were not enough to be called a warrior, even if he was good at it, he could have die if the enemy was close and he was without his dragons. He wasn't _that_ foreign to melee weapons, after all, he was a blacksmith apprentice and he forged weapons, repaired weapons, but not really used them. Today he would learn how to fight.

The two teens were walking to the beach, because Astrid thought it was a good place to train. There was plenty of space and there weren't trees everywhere.

"How do you want me to train you? You have no real weapons except you bow." Astrid pointed out.

"I also have a dagger, but I never used really one in combat." Hiccup responded.

"You have a dagger and didn't tell me about it? Why?" she asked while turning to face the boy

"I didn't thought it was an important information." Hiccup said defensively at which Astrid sighed, annoyed.

"You'll use my axe."

"Would you really let me use your axe? I know it's very important to you. I mean, are you sure?" the boy said very unsure about her decision. The axe was a heavy weapon, and Astrid used a double-edged axe, so he wasn't so sure that he could use her weapon effectively. And if he somehow managed to break it, he would most certainly die.

"Hiccup, please don't make me change my mind." Astrid said while effortlessly throwing her axe to Hiccup so he could use it, but Hiccup panicked at the sight of an axe coming at him and quickly dodged it.

"For Thor's sake Hiccup. Can we start training already?" Astrid asked annoyed at the boy.

Hiccup quickly recovered and picked the axe from the ground.

"Good, now hit me!" she said while getting in a more defensive stance.

"What?" Hiccup asked her, not being sure if it was a test or he was really supposed to hit her.

"You must learn how to move with a weapon in your hand, you must learn how to swing a weapon. So go on!" Astrid calmly explained, not getting out of her stance.

"Shouldn't I hit a tree or something, I mean until I get used to the weapon." the boy said worried. He could hurt the only human that didn't want him dead, well maybe, and he could break her axe which will result in a lot of pain for him.

"And then what am I supposed to do? Look at you cutting down trees? This way I can practice my dodging and you can attack a moving target. It's a win-win situation." she said while getting in a more normal position and starting to gesture at the trees.

"If you say so..." Hiccup responded while moving closer to Astrid.

"Good, now hold the axe in your right hand. Have a good grip and when you feel ready try and hit me." she said while getting in her defensive stance again.

"But what if I hit you?" Hiccup asked trying to get this problem of his head.

"Hiccup, if you manage to hit me, I will swim all the way back to Berk and kiss Snotlout." Astrid responded annoyed.

"Here goes nothing..." Hiccup slowly said, more to himself.

The boy charged at Astrid, trying to hit her with an attack from the right, but she dodged the attack without any real effort.

"How did you…?" Hiccup asked amazed at her agility and speed.

"I told you that you couldn't manage to hit me," Astrid answered with a mocking smile.

"So, this is how it's going to be," Hiccup said before charging again. He tried to make two quick swings, but the girl managed to dodge again.

For about three hours, Hiccup tried to hit Astrid without success. In the end, he fell to the ground exhausted, even Astrid was a little tired, she didn't expect the boy to have so much stamina, but he worked for years in a forge, so he was supposed to have some endurance and muscles. It was rather impressing, if he could train him like this for one or two months, he would end up a decent fighter. Not good enough to be a problem for most vikings, but enough to survive until help arrived. She needed a lot more time than that to train Hiccup to be at least as good as Snotlout, but Hiccup had the brain, which the other boy lacked, maybe in a fair fight he would defeat Snotlout. Maybe.

"Enough for today." Astrid said starting to walk "Let's go back to the cave and eat something."

"I...just...need...a...moment..." Hiccup said panting while lying on the ground.

"You can't possibly be that tired, you did nothing but swing an axe." she said annoyed, turning around and looking at the boy lying down.

"Just... let me rest..." he said exhausted.

"Sure, take your time." Astrid said sarcastically while getting her axe from near Hiccup and sitting at the shadow of a tree. It wasn't even noon. After they woke up and had breakfast, they went training. They still had a lot of time until evening. "What are we going to do for the rest of the day? Do we still have food or should we go hunting? If you have the strength you can teach me how to use a bow." Astrid said trying to fill her program for the rest of the day.

Hiccup was slowly getting up.

"I don't think we have any more food, so yes, we should go hunting. Also, my old bow it's still at the cave and if you want training we should go get it."Hiccup said cleaning himself from the dirt on the ground.

"Sounds good. Let's go." Astrid said while getting up.

They both headed to the cave where Toothless was sleeping. Ild and Blad where playing at the entrance of the cave. They still didn't trust Astrid. To them she was just a stranger. A stranger that hurt Hiccup in the past, but now she was here, near Hiccup and the boy trusted her, so they had to be nice.

"Hey Toothless! We're back. Let me guess, you're sleeping again." Hiccup said. The dragon didn't even bother to respond. Hiccup went and got the bows and about ten arrows. It was enough for some practice and for hunting a boar. Soon they left the cave and went in the forest.

They walked in silence, looking for a game, but the forest seemed empty. They walked until they reached a clearing.

"This place looks good enough." Hiccup said, taking a few arrows from his quiver.

"Good enough for what?" Astrid asked looking confused at him.

"You can train with the bow here, there is a lot of space and if we are lucky, an animal might walk through here. I will go place some traps. You just try to hit that tree." The boy said while pointing at a tree on the other side of the clearing. With that being said, Hiccup gave Astrid his old bow and a few of his old arrows, the ones he made. Those arrows weren't that balanced, but they would do the job, as a former intruder found out.

Hiccup knew how to place traps. Gobber taught him about this and he had time to practice while he was on this island. Hiccup might have found out how to make traps on his own, but the fact that Gobber explained him the mechanics and psychics of all the parts of a trap helped. This time he decided to place some simple non lethal traps, only to catch some boars. He made a simple snare with some rope, if everything would go according to the plan, some boars will get stuck in some of those ropes.

After five well placed traps, Hiccup returned to Astrid. She was cursing the bow and the trees.

"So, how are you doing?" he asked approaching her.

"This cursed bow is broken." Astrid answered annoyed, throwing the bow to the ground.

"Let me see." Hiccup approached and picked the bow from the ground, took an arrow from Astrid and positioned himself so that he was looking at the tree. He slowly raised the bow with his left hand, placed the arrow on the string and pulled the string until it was touching his cheek. And he released it. The arrow went flying and hit the tree.

"How in Thor's name did you do that?" Astrid asked amazed by his skill.

"It's not even that difficult. Let me see how you shoot," Hiccup said while giving back her bow. After she took an arrow and positioned it on the string, Hiccup took a few steps back to see what she did wrong.

Astrid lifted the bow with her left hand, just like Hiccup did, she pulled the string until it was touching her cheek. And she released it. The arrow missed the tree by a lot and she threw the bow on the ground with frustration.

"Why? WHY? I did exactly like you did. So why I can't hit that stupid tree?" She said while trying to hit an invisible foe with her fists.

"The problem is in your aim. Try closing you right eye so you can see better. And also, you must learn to calm yourself. It took me about two weeks to be able to kill a boar with the bow. So you still have time." Hiccup calmly explained.

"I will kill a damned boar in three days, tops." Astrid said, trying to recover some of her confidence.

"Astrid," Hiccup said sarcastically, "if you manage to kill three boar, within the next three weeks, with that bow, I will go back to Berk and surrender myself."

"Why would you do that?" Astrid asked rather surprised by what Hiccup just said.

"If you manage to do that, I would die happy because I saw one of the most unbelievable things." the boy said with a small smile on his face.

"So this is how it's going to be?" Astrid said accepting the challenge.

"Now can you please give me your axe?" Hiccup asked putting on a serious face.

"And why would I do that?" Astrid answered mocking the idea.

"Because otherwise you will have to make your own bow and arrows." Hiccup said with a cunning tone. Astrid's face slightly dropped. She already accepted the challenge, so if he took her bow, she would have to make a new one and also had to make arrows, this would take a lot of time from her practice.

The boy that was one of the biggest disappointments in the viking history, was now playing her like he wanted. _When did Hiccup became so clever and cunning? How did this happened? Was he this way before, but nobody noticed because they were all ignoring him?_

"You cunning little fox..." Astrid said rather annoyed but also surprised at the boy that was standing in front of her.

"So I take that as a yes?" Hiccup asked sarcastically with a small smile.

"Yes..." Astrid answered defeated and throwing her axe at Hiccup. This time, Hiccup didn't jumped trying to dodge the weapon that was coming to him, but he stood his ground and with a quick move from his arm, Hiccup caught the axe.

"Thanks," the boy said while walking in the forest with her axe.

Astrid was left alone to practice with her bow. She was still bad. When she managed to hit the tree, it wasn't with enough force to get the arrow stuck in the tree. When she used more force, she missed the tree and had to go and look for the arrow. It was a disaster. If she had her axe now, she would start chopping down the entire forest. She just hoped that Hiccup didn't break it or something like that. That would be the only thing that could ruin her day more.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was in the forest hitting trees. He kept changing hands, so he wouldn't get tired as fast. He didn't really like the axe, he preferred a sword. The axe was too heavy for him, it was annoying, but at least it was a weapon.

He preferred light weapons. Hiccup was also quite handy, but no one really noticed because of his series of bad luck. But he managed to use both of his hands with the same dexterity. He still preferred his left arm over the right one, but he had created a lot of weapons and armors in the forge using both of his hands equally, both of his hands could do the same things. Once he even considered trying to dual wield two swords, but he failed not knowing how to properly use even one sword. But that was still on his "to do" list.

They kept practicing in different parts of the forest for a few hours. Hiccup started heading to the camp, he was exhausted and the camp wasn't very near.

They walked for about twenty minutes until they found that clearing and Hiccup walked another ten minutes so he wouldn't be disturbed by Astrid's frustration. So he had to walk for about an hour back to the camp. He was hoping that they would meet somewhere on the way to the camp so she could take back her heavy axe. He walked panting for about twenty minutes, then he decided to take a break. He sat at the shadow of a tree. There were more than four hours until evening. He could take a small nap there, the place was relative safe. Then he remembered, Astrid was here for only two days, she had no idea how to return to the camp. Now he had to walk all the way back and hope that she was still there.

...

"Why can't I hit that stupid tree with those stupid arrows. Why?" Astrid said in frustration. She was there for hours and she hadn't made a lot of progress. Most of the time she wasted by walking through the forest to get her arrows back, she even managed to break one arrow, but she kept the arrowhead, hoping that Hiccup could repair it. She slowly started to walk back to the camp. She was mad, mad at the forest, mad at the bow, mad at the arrows.

Astrid was slowly walking to the camp when she heard a movement in the trees. She got her dagger from her boot and started walking to the noise. It was a boar. A boar got stuck in ones of Hiccup's traps. She was a little surprised by that. Hiccup managed to create a very efficient trap and actually catch something with it. She approached the boar and killed it. She then slowly started to untie the rope that the pig got stuck into. She then got the boar on her back and the rope around her right shoulder and started walking back to the camp. Astrid then realized that she didn't know were Hiccup placed the traps, so she started to be a little more careful. If she got stuck in one, things could go bad. She had no idea what animals were on this island. There could be wolves or bears, and if she got stuck in one of his traps she would be an easy prey.

After about ten minutes of walking they met. Hiccup noticed the boar on Astrid's back and asked her "How did you kill this boar?"

Astrid shrugged with a smirk, "I killed it with the bow. Guess you have to swim back to Berk now huh?"

"What!?" He shrieked.

"Oh calm down, I'm kidding. It got stuck on one of your traps. I heard it while walking back to the camp."

"At least now we have food. Need any help carrying it?" Hiccup asked. He didn't seem surprised by the result of one of his traps. He was doing this for some time now.

"No, I'm fine, let's just keep going." she said while taking her axe from Hiccup.

After about thirteen minutes they got back to the camp.

"So we are finally here." Hiccup said. They were tired from all the training and walking they had to do, the boar that Astrid carried didn't help her either.

"Let's skin this boar and start cooking. I hadn't ate anything since morning." Astrid said. They slowly walked in the cave, it was quiet. A little too quiet. Blad and Ild were always noisy, they were always playing and burning things, but now they weren't.

"Hiccup, where are your dragons?" Astrid asked.

"They are probably sleeping." He said while he unequipped his quiver and his bow. Astrid gently threw the boar on the ground and unequipped her bow and axe.

"Can you light the fire?" Hiccup asked Astrid while he got his dagger and approached the boar to skin it.

"Do you actually know how to properly skin a boar?" The girl asked while she was trying to light the fire with a flint and her dagger. The fire was slowly lighting the cave. She then noticed the dragons sleeping in their corner.

"There they are." Astrid said. Then she looked a little more carefully where the dragons were she noticed something different. "Hiccup, can you get over here?" she asked.

"Why?" the boy asked confused while getting up from near the boar.

Toothless raised his head with his sleepy eyes and looked at the two teens. He slowly got up trying not to disturb the other dragons. He then started walking to Hiccup, with an almost sad face.

"What's wrong bud?" Hiccup asked the Nightfury while he was getting closer. Toothless pointed at the place he was sleeping with almost a begging face. He needed Hiccup's help with something.

"Hiccup, there is a Nadder down there. Why is a Nadder down there?" Astrid asked while slowly backing away from the dragons and going to get her weapons.

Hiccup was slowly approaching the Nadder, he noticed the dragon's right wing was injured. It looked that her wing was broken, nothing too bad, he could treat that injury.

"She's hurt." Hiccup said.

"We need to make her go!" Astrid declared while raising her axe.

"Wait? What?" Hiccup asked surprised. "Why?"

"Hiccup, there are three main reasons."

"Here we go..." the boy said sarcastically.

"First. She is a wild dragon." Astrid declared.

"So we will have to tame her." Hiccup said getting between her and the Nadder.

"Second. She is injured, we will have to feed her and take care of her." Astrid said trying to pass Hiccup and go to the Nadder.

"That is actually a good reason to keep her." Hiccup pointed out.

"And third. What are we going to do with another dragon?" Astrid asked trying to make her point.

"You can ride her." Hiccup said gesturing at her.

"What?" the girl asked surprised at his declaration.

"Yes. I can help you learn how to train her and she can be your dragon. You will be the Second Dragon rider. The second person to tame a dragon." the boy said trying to make the offer sound appealing to her

"Hiccup, you know that having to hunt for your food and provide for a creature that eats like five men it's not an easy thing, right?" Astrid asked him with an almost sarcastic tone.

"Astrid, I was doing this for months before you got here. I was providing food for Toothless on Berk before I even got good at Dragon Training." Hiccup said while approaching Astrid. "Now put that axe down." He ordered.

"You don't tell me what to do!" She said feeling almost insulted by the idea of Hiccup ordering her around.

"You live on my island. I have three dragons. I didn't kill you for all the things you did in the past. And now you are trying to tell me what to do with a dragon that is injured in MY cave?" Hiccup said at her almost yelling the final sentence.

Astrid was shocked by Hiccup. He was never like this. He never yelled at others. He never tried to order anyone around. He used to be afraid of her. He used to back away from every conflict. _When did he change like this? Why, did he change like this?_

"Hiccup, you changed a lot. If I wouldn't see your face I wouldn't know you were Hiccup. What made you like this?" Astrid asked, a little worried, but mostly sad. No one ever ordered her around. No one yelled at her. This was new to her. She was treated almost like an equal to most older vikings before she got here. Now she had to listen to a person that was a disgrace to her village.

"I lived on Berk for fifteen years. In that time, only Gobber tried to be my friend, maybe he had to because I was his apprentice. No one respected me. No one tried to talk to me. All of you only insulted me while I was on Berk. Then I found Toothless and he accepted me for what I was. After I ran from the village I met Blad and Ild. And they accepted me for what I am. So I am sorry if I trust dragons more than humans. So far I made more dragon friends in two months than human friends in fifteen years."

He touched a nerve.

The Nadder was slowly getting up. She was injured, but not hard enough to keep her from walking. Maybe she could still hunt by herself with her spikes or fire breath, so she wouldn't be totally useless.

Astrid dropped her axe.

"Can I have the Nadder? Please?" She asked almost with a begging tone.

Hiccup was taken by surprise. He never heard her say "please" before. And she said "please" to him. To help _her_ with _a dragon_. The creature that she trained most of her life to kill. She wanted _his_ help to tame _a dragon._

"Sure." Hiccup said starting to smile a little.

"Can you teach me how to tame it?" Astrid asked him, still a little sad for what he said a few moments before.

"First. Go and approach her. Don't make any sudden movements." And so Astrid did. She slowly approached the Nadder, trying not to be in her blind spot so she wouldn't surprise the dragon. "Now stretch your arm, until you almost touch her snout and if she trusts you she will move forward and touch your hand."

"Hiccup are you sure about this?" Astrid asked a little worried about the possibility of her losing her hand or even her life.

"Mostly. I didn't try it on other dragons except Toothless." Hiccup responded sarcastically.

Astrid was now just in front of the Nadder. She stretched her arm until it almost touched the dragon's nostrils. She held her breath. She turned her head away from the dragon, closing her eyes. She could feel the hot air from the dragon's nostrils on her palm. She was taking a huge _leap of faith. _She was trusting a dragon. A dragon that she never met before. She was _trusting a dragon_ that she wouldn't maim or kill her.

After a few moments that seemed like an eternity, she felt the cold scales on her hand.

She felt connected with the dragon, like she could read the dragon's mind and the dragon could read her mind. Without them even noticing they started to sync their breathing. She slowly turned her head to face the dragon. Slowly opening her eyes to look at the dragon. She noticed that the dragon also closed her eyes. They both took a _leap of faith_. They both trusted each other that they wouldn't spill any blood. Now they were bounded together.

Astrid was now smiling. She was smiling like a child that got a small puppy to take care of. She was going to protect this dragon with her life, and so was the dragon going to protect her.

She then hugged the dragon.

"How are you felling?" Hiccup asked slowly approaching them.

"This. Is. Amazing." Astrid said while still hugging her dragon.

"What are you going to name her?" Hiccup asked.

"Name her?" the girl asked a little surprised by the question.

"Well of course. She is your dragon now. You must give her a name." The boy answered trying to explain the relation that she had with the dragon now.

"Stormfly! I will name her Stormfly!" Astrid responded proudly. The dragon nudged her happily.

"She seems to like it." Hiccup pointed out.

After a few minutes of silence Astrid spoke, "Hiccup, I'm sorry that I doubted you. You are a good friend. I'm sorry that I didn't notice that a long time ago. Thanks for making me understand that dragons aren't the evil creatures the vikings think they are." She was almost breaking down in front of him. She just betrayed her family. Her village. All that she was taught since she was a child. For a pet. And for a boy she consider a screw-up, useless, disgrace to the vikings. A boy that she had to kill in order to return to Berk.

"You are welcome." Hiccup said not really knowing how to react to the statement that Astrid just made. He also noticed that her eyes getting a little wet. Astrid was going to cry. He never saw her crying before. He actually never saw her thank him for anything before. "I will go with Toothless to get some more food. I will get back in about an hour." He then proceeded to awkwardly back away. Leaving the girl with her dragon. He knew that she, opening herself like that, wasn't something she would likely do and he wasn't sure that he was ready to see her cry, to try and comfort her.

When he got out of the cave he noticed Toothless sitting near a tree. He quickly approached the Nightfury and said. "We need to get more food if we are going to have the girls living with us. Let's go hunt some boars."

Hunting with Toothless was easy. He would just run and grab a boar at which Hiccup would quickly kill the boar with his dagger, only that he forgot his dagger back at the cave. So things might get a little messy. They quickly checked the remaining traps and managed to get two boars from them. This should be enough for a few days. They also needed some wood to immobilize Stormfly's wing. It would help her heal a lot quicker, too.

Hiccup wasn't sure if Astrid calmed down yet. So he decided to drop the boars somewhere near the cave, not close enough for Astrid to hear them landing or even notice them and then take Toothless for an evening flight.

He needed to clear his mind from what happened today.

Astrid just betrayed all that vikings stood for, sure, he did that months ago, but he never really cared for traditions and stuff like that. But Astrid did. This was going to affect her. She might never be the same. He caused that. Everything that was going to happen to Astrid in the future, would be his fault and his alone.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	6. Acceptance

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. And please make sure to go and read her masterpiece __****Infernal Responsibility ****if you haven't already**. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.  


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In the next morning, Astrid was sleeping covered by Stormfly's left wing. At first, when she woke, she panicked a little at the idea that she was captured by a dragon. Then she remembered. This was her dragon, her dragon was covering her with her wing. Her dragon tried to protect her from the cold of the night. The same dragon that she wanted to kill about ten hours ago, was now hugging her with her uninjured wing.

"Hey girl. How did you sleep?" Astrid asked while slowly getting up. She noticed that she was also covered by her fur cloak. The cloak that she used as a blanket since she got here. Maybe Hiccup covered her after she fell asleep. That would have been nice of him. That would mean that he cared for her, even after all she did in the past, things could get better. She placed the cloak on her sleeping bag that was near the fire, the now extinguished fire. Astrid then wanted to get her axe and have a small talk with Hiccup about yesterday. She managed to tame a dragon and that felt incredible, but she also was a traitor to the vikings ways and her tribe, so she needed some advice from someone who was marked for high treason two months ago.

Hiccup was outside with Toothless trying to make some boards to immobilize Stormfly's right wing, he took Astrid's axe for this since he needed to make the boards somehow equal. After he almost finished making the boards he felt a pat on his back, Hiccup jumped scared by the surprising touch.

"Calm down, it's just me." Astrid said a little amused by Hiccup's reaction.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hiccup asked as he was recovering from the scare he received a few moments ago.

"I didn't want to disturb your work with _my_ axe," she said with a small sarcastic smile.

"Uh...Yes, I needed your axe to make some boards to immobilize Stormfly's injured wing. So she will heal faster, you know." Hiccup said starting to get the boards from the ground.

"Oh... Sorry then. And, thanks..." Astrid said a little surprised by Hiccup's work trying to help her dragon.

"No problem, I hate to see a dragon suffer when it could be helped." Hiccup said giving Astrid her axe and starting to walk back to the cave.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked while following the boy back to her dragon.

"Yes, Astrid?" Hiccup said turning his head to face the girl.

"How, did you feel after taming...No, befriending Toothless?" Astrid asked a little sad. Too many big things happened in the last day, she didn't had time to digest all the new information. She wanted his help to understand Stormfly as quickly as possible and to understand the status of traitor.

"Happy. Amazed. Scared. A lot of thoughts passed through my mind at that moment, but those were the most predominant ones." Hiccup said without any hesitation or problem on the subject. He really wanted to help Astrid understand Stormfly. He really wanted to make her understand dragons, at least the fact that they were not a threat.

"Why did you feel scared?" Astrid asked a little surprised, a lot of thoughts went through her head at that moment, but after she felt Stormfly's scales on her hand, fear was not one of them.

"I was afraid for Toothless. I noticed he couldn't fly and I was afraid that you guys might hurt him or kill him. I was afraid of losing my only friend." Hiccup said with a little sadness in his voice. Even as the cove was a pretty isolated place, maybe some wandering vikings that trained in the woods, like Astrid, might have found the Nightfury and bring some adults to the cove and kill him.

"Hiccup, I'm sorry." Her experience with Stormfly was on an isolated island while she was banished by her tribe and with only one other person that already befriended the dragons. She could only imagine what Hiccup had been through on Berk. He had to provide for Toothless and create his new tail fin and saddle. He had to hide the dragon from the rest of the village. He had to live with the fear that Toothless might not be there next the time he visited the cove, the fear that a viking would bring Toothless's head in the village.

"Don't be. I'm over it now. Here we are both free from Berk. But I noticed that you still haven't got over Berk and the viking heritage." Hiccup said trying to continue the conversation. He knew that Astrid had more things to say and that _'I'm sorry'_ was not going to help Astrid clear her head.

"Yes...I was raised as a viking. I embraced the tradition and our heritage. And now, I gave it all up for Stormfly. All that..."

"And you regret it?" Hiccup asked interrupting her.

"No. Not really. No." Astrid answered trying to understand Hiccup's point.

"Then why are you still upset? The chances of them going out to search for you and make you return to Berk without my head in a bag are almost zero. Yes, you love your parents. Yes, you miss your friends. And yes, you miss being the best young viking on Berk. But would you give up Stormfly and return to Berk? If you want to return to Berk I will happy fly all the way there with Toothless and surrender myself. You would be the one that managed to slay Hiccup the Dragon Master and a mighty Nightfury. Isn't that what you want?" Hiccup asked her while stopping in his steps and turning around to face her. He had a very serious expression on his face. He meant every word he just said.

"No..." Astrid said quietly looking in the ground. All the things that Hiccup said were true. She loved her parents, she missed her friends, she missed being a viking on Berk. But she wasn't going to trade Stormfly for Berk. She wasn't going to trade the dragon that trusted her with her life, the dragon that she trusted with her life, for Berk, the village where she grew, the village where she lived the last fifteen years. She wasn't going to trade a _dragon _that she met a day ago for the village where she lived. She wasn't going to trade Hiccup and Toothless for glory and honor. She wasn't going to trade _two dragons and a traitor_ for her family and the honor of being one of the greatest vikings of all time.

"So you would rather train a silly dragon than being a hero in the Barbarian Archipelago?" Hiccup asked staying in front of her. He raised her face so he could look in her eyes. He needed to see her eyes as she answered his question.

"Yes." Astrid answered before starting to sob. She slowly approached and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder. Astrid Hofferson just betrayed everything she stood for. Everything she believed for fifteen years. It was not an easy thing to do. Hiccup knew that, but he had to know that he could trust her. Even if he had a crush on her since they were little, he had to know that she forgot Berk. That she accepted the dragons as friends. That she wasn't going to kill him, and get herself killed in the process. He needed this certitude.

They just stood there. The only sound in that part of the forest was Astrid crying. Toothless looked at them. He was clever enough to understand what the humans were saying, they had an easy language, many different and easy distinguishable words. He knew that this wasn't the same Astrid that wanted to kill him at the cove. She changed. He slowly started to walk by the teens and go back to the cave. He needed to talk to Stormfly.

After Toothless reached the cave, he noticed Stormfly sitting near the fire. She reignited the fire to keep her warm.

'The two humans are gathering materials to heal your broken wing.' Toothless said approaching the fire.

'I am grateful that you convinced me to come here, to this cave. Your humans look friendly enough. The male didn't tried to kill me to impress the female, like most of their species do, but he protected me. Why?' Stormfly asked the Nighfury while she was slowly getting up.

'He is the only human that trusts dragons. He had to run because of that and now all vikings want him dead,' the Nightfury said while sitting near the fire to warm himself.

'So the girl was here to kill him?' the Nadder asked looking in the fire.

'Yes, but they seemed to have a past. When Hiccup planned to flee the village with me, she followed him. I don't know why, but she seems to care about him, or maybe she is just pretending for her quest to power. I am not sure.'

'She feels a lot of things for the boy. Anger, piety, sadness, regret, love. I don't know what she is going to do, but she is not going to hurt the boy anymore.' Stormfly said while looking at Toothless, waiting for his answer, but the Nightfury stood in silence. He was thinking about something.

'If the girl is going to hurt Hiccup in the future, I want your permission to intervene. I know you are bounded to her from now on, but I am also bounded to the boy and I can't stand and do nothing while she is hurting him again.' Toothless said after hesitating a little. He wanted to protect Hiccup. He wanted to protect the boy that took his ability to fly. He wanted to protect him because they were alike, Because they were family. And Toothless protects his family.

This took the Nadder by surprise. She wasn't expecting something like this. She knew that Astrid hurt the boy in the past, but to such a level that another dragon is asking her for her permission to stop this. The boy was the first of his kind to befriend dragons. He was special, but would she betray her human for Hiccup, for the only human that could end the war.

'If the girl hurts Hiccup again..." the Nadder began weighting the decisions. "You have my permission to intervene. Since the girl is still a viking she could still be dangerous, but if she abandoned their ways, I ask you to spare her.' Stormfly softly said.

'You have my word.' Toothless said while looking at the entrance of the cave at the two teens entering.

Astrid was carrying her axe and a few boards, while Hiccup was carrying the rest of the boards he chopped this morning.

"Let's get you fixed Stormfly." Hiccup said while approaching the dragons. He placed all the boards near Stormfly's right side. "Astrid, can you cut some leather stripes from some hides near the fire wood?" Hiccup asked the girl.

"Sure." Astrid said while getting her dagger from her boot and starting to cut the leather. In a few moments she cut five long leather stripes.

Hiccup placed three board under Stormfly's wing and asked Astrid to hold them while he placed another three boards on top of her wing, then he proceeded to tie the boards together with the five leather stripes that Astrid had just cut, immobilizing Stormfly's right wing.

"That should do it." Hiccup proudly said admiring his work.

"Thanks a lot Hiccup." Astrid said with a small smile while hugging her dragon.

'Maybe she changed.' Stormfly said to the Nightfury.

'I hope so. It would be nice to have two people in the entire archipelago to not hunt us.' Toothless said studying Astrid's movement. He really hoped that Astrid would accept dragons, but he also wanted to protect Hiccup. If he would have to choose between having another person to not hunt dragons and Hiccup, he would choose the boy every single time. He was the one that bounded to him after all, that was a connection way more stronger than the connection he had with the other dragons. He would keep an eye on the girl from now.

Later that day, the two teens went out training again.

"Astrid, can you train me how to use a sword?" Hiccup asked her while they were walking to the beach.

"I don't see any swords around here, or are you hiding something from me again?" Astrid asked while suspiciously looking at the boy.

"No, I am not hiding anything. Maybe we can use some sticks or something, I really don't like the axe." Hiccup said pointing at the trees.

"The axe is one of the most powerful weapons created by mankind. It has the delicate touch of a blade and the powerful feeling of a mace. It's truly a masterpiece." Astrid said admiring the weapon in her hand.

"But it's not the weapon for me." Hiccup pointed out.

"Let's have it your way then." Astrid said rolling her eyes. "Go and find a stick and let's start training."

"Why only a stick?" Hiccup asked a little surprised.

"Because if I would fight back you wouldn't stand a chance." Astrid proudly said.

"I could defeat you." Hiccup slowly said more to himself.

"You really want me to fight you?" Astrid said with an annoyed face looking at the boy.

"It's the best way to train. Wouldn't you agree?" Hiccup said while looking for some sticks thick enough to be used as decent wooden swords.

"Hiccup, you barely know how to hold a weapon, you don't even know what to look at in weapon." Astrid said while gesturing with her hands.

"You know that I was a blacksmith apprentice in Berk for ten years don't you?" Hiccup said with a sarcastic tone.

"That's not the point. The idea is..."

"You remember that time when you broke the handle of you axe and brought it to the forge to repair it?" Hiccup said interrupting the girl.

"Yes, so?" Astrid asked.

"You remember that after I repaired you axe you told me that it feels completely rebalanced and a lot more easy and just better?" Hiccup asked her while gesturing with his hands.

"Yes. I don't know what Gobber did but it changed the way I fought with an axe." She said with a small smile remembering the pleasant surprise she had after throwing her axe at a tree. The action felt a lot easier but the resistance and power of the weapon was still there.

"_I_ changed your handle that was made from pine to one that was made from white oak, which is a stronger type of wood, and that allowed _me_ to make the axe head a little heavier to balance the extra weight from the new handle. So you got a stronger, more resistant and better balanced weapon from just a new handle." Hiccup said while gesturing almost every process he used to change her axe.

"So..." Astrid began while looking at her axe "_You_ changed my family's axe?"

"Yes." Hiccup said rubbing the back of his neck. He took a few steps back in case that she would turn violent from this new information. He was a screw-up when he changed her axe. He was afraid that she might feel offended by this.

"And you made this axe, one of the best weapons on Berk and didn't say anything?" Astrid asked almost yelling while approaching the boy.

"If I told you that I made this weapon you would have killed me because I was the village screw-up. So I had my reasons." Hiccup said defending his former self.

"What other amazing weapons did you created and passed to Gobber just so that the weapons would be used?" Astrid asked while trying to remember any other weapons that stood out in the village.

"Well…there were a few." Hiccup said slowly backing away from her.

"Did I use them? Where they just as amazing as this one? How were they used in combat?"

"There was that flaming sword that almost burned Sven's house..." Hiccup said trying to remember some weapons that didn't backfire and almost killed someone, but he couldn't really find any examples of _safe_ weapons that he created. "The one that I caught Toothless with, and was later destroyed by a Monstrous Nightmare..."

"So you don't really have any weapons that didn't backfire, do you?" Astrid asked, interrupting him with a disappointed look on her face.

"No. Not really. I don't think so." Hiccup said analyzing his memory.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached the beach.

"Hey. Can you make us some training swords? Like real wooden swords not just sticks?" Astrid asked the boy while looking at the sea. "I can lent you my axe if you need it."

"Sure. I can do that." Hiccup said proudly.

Then they started to make a board from a fallen tree. Hiccup proceeded to cut from the plank two small clubs, which then he started to shape with his dagger slowly creating the shape of a wooden sword. He even made a small sign on where the handle should be. He managed to make two decent wooden swords in almost half an hour. He was skilled at this. Well, he practiced a lot trying to be respected in Berk. Blacksmiths were very respected around the archipelago, so this was one of his only chances to be someone. But he was over that now. Now he just wanted to be happy with his dragons and if everything will went well, with Astrid.

"So you finished?" Astrid asked the boy while sharpening her axe with a stone. Then she proceeded to approach the two wooden weapons and scan them for any visible defects or errors. "You are actually pretty good at this." she finally said, picking up one sword.

"So..." Hiccup said while picking up the other. "How are we going to do this?" he then asked a little worried about the possible injuries that he would sustain.

"We will fight until the first sign of blood." Astrid said while giving the wooden sword a few swings.

"I was afraid of that..." Hiccup said under his breath.

"You have any better ideas?" Astrid asked him. She was fairly satisfied with the sword. It wasn't the best training sword, but he managed to make it in less than half an hour and without the equipment of his forge in Berk.

"We can just try to disarm each other." Hiccup said hoping that she would accept this idea. He wasn't really looking forward to any serious injuries.

"Sure. Whatever makes you happy," the girl said rolling her eyes and slowly backing away from Hiccup to give the boy a little space to charge. "But, to make things more interesting. The loser will have to go hunting."

"I am the only one that caught a boar on this island..." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"That is not the point. This is the only way I am going to train with you by disarming." She said standing her ground at about thirty feet away from Hiccup.

"Good enough," the boy said.

"Okay. Now charge." Astrid said with a small smile, this was going to be easy, she already had a plan for this.

"No. You charge." Hiccup quickly responded.

"What?" Astrid asked a little shocked about his answer. "Why?"

"Because if I charge, you will quickly dodge and hit me on my left leg so I would fall and then you can easily disarm me." Hiccup said a little afraid by this confrontation, but also proud that he figured her plan. Astrid just sat there dumbfounded looking at the boy.

"How in Thor's name did you figured that out so quickly?" She finally asked.

"Because that would have been a fast and easy win, and you have the experience to do something like that. But by doing that I would have learned nothing. So let's not do that." Hiccup said. He was hoping that this didn't anger the young teen. He wasn't looking forward to an angry Astrid.

"You are right. You would have learned nothing and I could have returned on training with my axe. You know that _me_ training _you_ doesn't really help _my_ training?" She said while slowly approaching the boy. She looked a little angry. She could get violent.

"But I helped you befriend Stormfly. That must count for something, right?" Hiccup said while slowly backing away from her. Then Astrid stopped. He was right. She owned him at least this, she had to at least train him to fight.

"You are right, again." she answered a little annoyed. "This is what we are going to do. We will have a normal fight with training swords. We will try to disarm and hit each other. We will train for how long you want. I own you at least this, not only for Stormfly. How does this sound?" She finally asked Hiccup hoping that he would agree to this simple plan. In the long term he would become a good fighter. This was the fastest and most efficient way, but Hiccup was, well, a hiccup. He was weak and didn't really have a lot of physical training. He worked in a forge but that was not enough to be a good fighter, he knew how to use a weapon, since he had to make them, but not good enough to fight anyone with it. He just knew the basics. Maybe a little more. Maybe.

"This should work just fine." Hiccup said with a small smile while approaching Astrid.

"Are you ready?" The girl asked.

"Yes." Hiccup said while taking a deep breath. After that Astrid quickly hit Hiccup's sword, which fell to the ground and then she quickly hit him over his shoulder. Everything happened in almost one second. "Ouch. How did you do that?" Hiccup answered while rubbing his shoulder.

"Training. Now pick up your sword." Astrid promptly said. She was trying to be a serious teacher. She wasn't going to treat him lightly just because he was a hiccup. This was for his own good.

"Can I at least try to hit you?" he said while getting his sword.

"You want a serious fight or me just parrying your attacks?" Astrid asked with a very severe face.

"A fair fight." Hiccup slowly said.

"That's what I though." she said.

They trained like this for days.

After almost two weeks, Hiccup was full of bruises. She wasn't going easy on him, not at all. He wasn't sure that this was her revenge or that she actually cared enough for him to not treat him like a hiccup, that she cared enough for him to treat him like a normal viking. But he betrayed his viking heritage a long time ago. He officially abandoned his heritage two months ago when he was marked as a traitor. So he wasn't a viking anymore. Neither was she. They were both outcasts now. They could actually both associate themselves with Alvin the Treacherous and join the Outcast Tribe to destroy Berk. But he didn't care about Berk anymore. Maybe Astrid did, but not in a bad way, maybe she still missed Berk, all her friends and her family.

Why didn't she accept his offer to surrender back at Berk, her life would have been a lot better and she would have been with her family and friends at this moment. It couldn't be only Stormfly's fault. Sure, the bond with a dragon was a very powerful feeling, not easily ignored, but she could have changed the way vikings thought about dragons. She was a powerful viking. She was respected. And she gave all this up just for a dragon and a person she didn't even care about till two months ago.

...

Hiccup was getting good at this. He was still not a challenge to Astrid but he managed to take her by surprise sometimes. He sometimes manages to resist more than five minutes in a fight with her, maybe she let him do that do gain some confidence. He hadn't defeated her yet, but he was getting closer. If he would just have a little advantage at the start then maybe he could catch her off guard. Maybe he could surprise her and manage to disarm her.

Then, he had an idea. He knew that he was ambidextrous, but she also knew that, he changed hands a lot of times and he was very good with both of them, just not good enough for someone who was trained to fight since the age of three. But maybe he could use two swords. He wanted to try this for a long time. He practiced a few hours a day with Astrid and a few hours alone. He managed to learn how to use a sword to almost its full potential. This was the perfect moment to try and dual wield.

He created another training sword in one morning before Astrid arrived at their training place. Often he would go there before her to warm up a little before she arrived. He wasn't going to tell her about it until he trained a few days with this new style of fighting.

After he left Berk his growth spurt finally kicked in. Now he was actually a little taller than Astrid. That also helped his muscles develop, but that didn't really help in his training since Astrid had years of experience with fighting and she was also clever, she could use one of his disadvantaged against him, even if it wasn't a fair fight, she did that before, she had to teach him how to fight in all conditions. There was one occasion when she hurt his leg and had to cancel their training for the day, but the following day, she took advantage of his slightly injured leg and defeated him a few times until he gave up and went to train alone in the woods.

"You're up early." Astrid said while finally reaching the beach.

"I have a small surprise," he said with a cocky smile, revealing the fact that he was using two swords. He actually believed he could defeat her this time.

"Why would you try to dual wield? You will easily lose your balance, you will panic after losing one sword and at the end of the day you will be disappointed." Astrid said a little annoyed by this. She tried to dual wield when she was younger, and failed miserably, since then, she never even tried to do that again.

"I practiced a few days before, so, I am pretty confident to try this against you." Hiccup said before swinging the swords a few times for practice.

"This should be fun." Astrid said under her breath before charging at Hiccup.

The boy parried her sword and hit her with his shoulder to use the momentum from her charge against her. Which worked well as she fell to the ground, but she quickly dodged his attempt to attack her while she was down and she got up before he could try to hit her again. They were now looking at each other, circling around the imaginary arena they created over the past two weeks. They both were waiting for the other one to make a move. Hiccup finally made an attempt to an high attack with his right sword, at which Astrid responded by trying to block his attack, but just before she managed to block his high attack, another low attack managed to hit her hands where she was holding her sword, this made her flinch and drop the sword at which Hiccup's high attack managed to hit her in the shoulder. It wasn't an easy hit, with all the muscles that she forced Hiccup to get in order to fight her and with his recent growth spurt, it was a strong hit.

"SHIT!" She yelled while she was hit by his wooden sword. She started to aggressively pace around and rub her shoulder while cursing Hiccup under her breath.

"So... I am pretty good with two swords, I am not?" Hiccup asked her with a confident tone while swinging his swords trying to prove his point.

"You bastard! Why did you had to hit so hard? You already disarmed me." She yelled at him still rubbing her arm.

"That was a small revenge." Hiccup said smiling.

"You will pay for this!" She said while quickly grabbing her training sword and charging at the boy.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	7. An Idea

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. ** Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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After almost a month since Stormfly's arrival, her right wing finally healed. This meant that Hiccup could finally train Astrid to fly a dragon. Now she could fully understand the potential of dragons as friends.

But there was one slight problem.

Toothless's flying gear was getting rusty, the fin had a few holes in it, and well, it was kind of a mess. So he would have to train Astrid with a dragon that had never flew with humans on her back before. That means he would have to train Astrid and Stormfly at the same time, and he wasn't really looking forward to this complication. His plan was to fly Astrid with Toothless until she would get used to flying and ride Stormfly until the dragon was used to flying with humans, so he had a lot of work ahead.

"The first thing you need to do is to trust your dragon. Stormfly has a lot more flying experience than you, so don't try to force some maneuvers on her when you are flying." Hiccup said while getting some rope from his bag.

"So that means that Stormfly will fly where she wants?" Astrid asked with a confused face.

"No, I mean that if something happens when you fly, you should trust Stormfly to take care of it and not do some maneuvers until you have enough experience flying with Stormfly." Hiccup explains while approaching the Nadder.

"Got it. So how are you going to teach me to fly with her?" Astrid asked approaching Hiccup and the Stormfly.

"I am going to fly with you on Stormfly until you get used to flying and she gets used to people on her back." Hiccup said while climbing on Stormfly's back and using the rope as a steering mechanism. This made Stormfly a little uncomfortable, she flew a little before and Hiccup saw that her wing was fully healed, but she wasn't expecting to fly with humans on her back.

'What are they doing?' Stormfly asked Toothless.

'They are going to fly with you.' Toothless answered a little sleepy.

'Why?' Stormfy asked confused.

'So that the girl can get used to flying you.' Toothless answered with his eyes closed trying to send a message that he wants to sleep.

'Why would the girl want to fly a dragon?' Stormfly asked again a little worried that this was all just a cunning plan.

'So that they can travel large distances in short periods of time or to have an advantage in combat or something.' Toothless answered annoyed while getting up and going at the end of the cave to sleep.

'But you have equipment on you that is used for flying. Why they aren't giving me any equipment?' Stormfly asked before Toothless was out of her sight.

'Because I can't fly on my own.' Toothless said before disappearing in the darkness of the cave.

"So, we are both going to fly on Stormfly?" Astrid asked a little uncomfortable at the idea.

"Yes, I don't trust you to fly her alone. You could fall and get yourself killed." Hiccup said extending his hand to help Astrid climb up.

"But she's a small dragon." Astrid said while slightly blushing.

"Dragon are a lot stronger than they look, she will have no problem flying with both of us." Hiccup said still waiting for Astrid.

"But..."

"You want to fly or not?" Hiccup interrupted her a little annoyed. The faster she gets used to flying on her own, the sooner he can start repairing Toothless's flying gear.

Astrid accepted his help and climbed on Stormfly. The dragon accepted the idea of being rode by the girl and she understood that she didn't have any experience, so Hiccup had to fly with them until she was comfortable with flying a dragon. Astrid was feeling nervous about it. She was so close to Hiccup, the only time when they were so close was when they were training. But now, there was no real reason for her to be this close to him. He used to be so uncomfortable around girls and now, now he didn't have any problems. When did he became so confident? She wasn't even sure that she liked him or not. Hiccup was the only other human that she saw for almost three months. That should be the reason. But his recent growth spurt and all the muscles he gained from training helped a little.

"Relax. You will get comfortable with dragons soon enough." Hiccup said, noticing how nervous she was.

"I hope..." Astrid said trying to avoid eye contact and looking for something to hold on.

"Let's go girl." Hiccup said to Stormfly while the Nadder slowly extended her wing and with a few quick beats they were in the air. Astrid was taken by surprise and she still hadn't found anything to hold on, so in her small moment of panic she grabbed a hold on Hiccup. She then quickly realized that she was now hugging Hiccup, but she was more afraid of falling than the awkward conversation that they were going to have, so she didn't let go.

Soon they were slowly flying over the sea. The Nadder flying pattern was very different from the one of a Nightfury, the Nadder was flying more like a bird, with long periods of gliding, but the Nightfury was flying like an arrow, straight to the target without any unnecessary movement.

Astrid started to look at the sea from Stormfly's back. It was a beautiful view. The sun was reflecting on the water. There were a few birds flying close to them. Astrid extended her arm trying to touch a bird, but when the bird quickly changed its trajectory, Astrid flinched a little and grabbed Hiccup a little harder. The world just seemed a lot different in the air. From the ground, the world looked like it ended and the sky began. But up in the air, the sea went on forever. The glimmering rays of the sun fell on the water, making the waves glitter. Everywhere you looked, there was blue. Blue sea, blue sky, blue Nadder. The wind whipped her loose braid around and fresh air filled her lungs. Never before had she felt so free.

"Wanna see something awesome?" Hiccup asked turning a little to face Astrid.

"Hiccup, this is amazing. The whole world looks different." Astrid said not really paying attention to Hiccup, she was too busy admiring the sea and the view. Hiccup noticed that she was distracted so he slowly made Stormfly to ascend to the sky. Astrid would notice eventually and her reaction will be priceless. After they reached a certain height, Astrid noticed the change in view and started to tighten Hiccup harder, to make sure she wouldn't fall. Hiccup only now noticed that Astrid was hugging him. When did that happened? Why was _Astrid Hofferson_ hugging him? Well, she was hugging him to not fall to her death from Stormfly's back. But _Astrid Hofferson_ was actually hugging him. The girl he had a crush since they were little, was hugging him. _Astrid Hofferson_ was hugging the former _Hiccup the Useless_.

_Holy shit._

"As...Astrid?" Hiccup started stuttering a little, then he coughed in his hand to regain his voice "So, what do you think?" They were now near the clouds. The way that the sun rays went through the clouds was breathtaking. You could see more than twenty small islands. Damn, you could even see Berk from here.

But Astrid didn't say a word. She was looking amazed at all those tiny islands, all those islands that could hold hundreds of vikings, now were sitting there looking like small leafs in the water.

"This. Is. Just. Amazing." Astrid said almost not paying any attention at the boy. "Why hasn't anyone befriended dragons before? We could have flown a long time ago. Why are all those viking so stubborn? Why?" Astrid asked a little annoyed at all those viking traditions that she learned and followed until a month ago.

"Well. Because most of the dragons hate vikings and most of the vikings hate dragons. So... It doesn't look like there will be peace for some time. Maybe if we can train a few more dragons to show the world that..."

"Let's go to Berk." Astrid interrupted Hiccup.

"What? Why?" Hiccup asked shocked by her proposition.

"Now there are two people that befriended dragons. Now they might even try to listen." Astrid answered, but not really paying any attention to his reaction, she was too amazed by the view.

"No. This is insane. They would never accept dragons. They are too closed minded." Hiccup brought his counter argument.

"We could at least try." Astrid said with a disappointed look on her face.

"Then we will both be marked for high treason and executed by the Blood Eagle. And I really don't like the Blood Eagle." Hiccup quickly responded.

"Me neither..." Astrid said under her breath remembering how close she was to dying on Berk.

"If we had enough dragons to at least raid Berk, then maybe they would listen. Or try to ambush us. Depends on their mood." Hiccup said the last sentence with a little bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"Why would we want to raid Berk?" Astrid asked confused by his plan. She knew that Hiccup kind of hated Berk, but to go so far to _raid_ Berk. That didn't sounded like Hiccup at all.

"Well, I wasn't thinking to really raid Berk, I was thinking that if we had enough dragons to safely raid it, then they would listen to us. Because we would be a force." Hiccup explained.

"But what if they think we're bluffing?" Astrid asked, starting to like Hiccup's plan.

"Then maybe we should actually raid some boats or islands, _or even Berk_." Hiccup declared.

"So that we can make a name for ourselves. I like this idea." Astrid said with a small smile on her face. This idea was crazy enough to work. It would take time, but they could change the entire Barbarian Archipelago. They could become the greatest heroes in the viking history. Astrid the Dragon Rider. She liked the sound of that.

"I kind of already started to make a name for myself." Hiccup said slowly at which Astrid slowly laughed.

"And what name would that be?" she said with a mocking tone.

**"**Fáfnir. I told a pirate that my..."

"WHAT?" Astrid yelled "You are Fáfnir?"

"Well... Yes." Hiccup confusedly said.

"You know what they say about you in the villages?" Astrid was yelling at the boy.

"No, not really." He was still confused and the vague answers Astrid gave weren't really helping.

"They said that your dragon ate a man alive. That your dragon broke the hand of a sailor when he tried to help his comrade that was eaten alive. And the other two sailors had to abandon him." Astrid declared, still not fully believing that he is Fáfnir, but he was the only person that came to mind when someone told a story about a man and a dragon, so it kind of made sense.

"Well...It wasn't quite like that." Hiccup sighed, "I guess is time for you to know."

"Know what?" Astrid asked still surprised.

"You remember when I told you I killed a man?" The boy wasn't sure he wanted to tell her that story, but this seemed like the best time to clear his name.

"Yes." Astrid said. She was actually very curious about that story. She noticed the first time when she brought up this subject that he was very defensive and hurt, so she decided to drop it until he was ready to bring it up.

"I killed him with my old bow. One of his friends threatened me and Toothless crushed his arm. And then I traded their lives for the roman bow that I use now and some arrows." Hiccup slowly said. Even he wasn't sure that this was the right time. He still hadn't got over it. He might break down in front of Astrid. The girl noticed his sudden change in mood and realized that he was still affected by this. But the story made perfectly sense. Hiccup didn't had the strength to kill a man in melee combat and she noticed his accuracy with the bow. But why did he killed him? What had gotten into Hiccup that he killed a man with his bow? She was going to insist on this later. Now she had to get them back on his island.

"Stormfly, let's go home." Astrid said, at which Stormfly slowly started to turn and descent closer to the sea level.

They flew in silence back to the island. Luckly for Hiccup, the island wasn't very far. They didn't managed to fly for a long time, but Astrid seemed comfortable flying on Stormfly, so the hardest part in her training was over.

Astrid knew that the name of Fáfnir would play a huge role in accepting dragons in the viking society. So far, it wasn't in a good way, but that at least meant that someone trained a dragon to listen to him, but this would make dragons to look more like weapons than real friends. Dragons are supposed to be friends, like a huge scaled flying dog that you keep in the house and talk to when you are sad and they make you feel better just by their presence.

When they landed, Hiccup quickly dismounted Stormfly and started to fast pace to the forest. When Astrid noticed, the boy almost disappeared in the trees.

"Hiccup. Wait!" Astrid yelled.

"I just need some time alone." Hiccup said with a weak voice.

"I can help you. I know what you are going through." Astrid yelled in the forest trying to follow Hiccup.

"How could you know?" Hiccup yelled back.

"I've seen their faces every night for the last three months." She said with a sad voice when she noticed Hiccup sitting down near a tree. She slowly approached the boy and sat down by his side. He was quietly sobbing, staring down in the grass, like the way to forgetting that horrible event was hidden there, somewhere.

"Who are _they_?" Hiccup slowly said.

"Four villagers that tried to rob me when I reached my third island. After I traded some boar hides for a flask and some bread, they followed me to my boat on the other side of the island and started threatening me. They said they would kill me if I didn't gave them my axe and the rest of the hides that I managed to procure. When I refused one of them tried to hit me with a club. I quickly crouched and grabbed the dagger from my boot and stabbed him. He started to cough, but I was too busy to care for him when his friends started charging at me. They didn't care that I stabbed one of them. Two of them were armed with clubs and the other one with a knife. I grabbed my axe and parried one attack while stabbing the man with my dagger. Then with a quick turn I hit the guy with the knife with my axe, and got the axe stuck in his chest. The last one tried to run but I threw my dagger at him, and hit his neck. Then I stood there in the dirt and blood crying for a few hours. Why did they try to rob me...? They could have lived. Those poor bastards could have lived...They still cross my mind when I go to sleep. I hope that one day I will start to believe that I killed them only to protect myself. But at the same time, I can't stop believing that there could have been a better way."

"You never seemed to be affected by this. Why?" Hiccup said catching his breath while quietly sobbing.

"I just had no one to confess to. Even at Berk my parents taught me not to show any emotion. That this is the viking way. That a real hero is not afraid of anything. But now I know that showing emotions doesn't make you weaker. Even the simple idea of admitting a fear makes you stronger. A real hero is not the person who isn't afraid of anything. A real hero is the person who acknowledges his fears and keeps charging at them for the better good. And if the viking way makes you ignore you emotions, then the viking way is wrong." Those were the last words Astrid said before Hiccup started to cry near her. Astrid slowly approached and hugged the boy. She was now here to protect him. He was there for her when she abandoned the viking way. He was there for her when she befriended Stormfly. He was there for her when she gave up Berk for dragons. Now, she was here for him. She was finally here for him.

Hiccup wasn't like the most vikings. He tried to be, he tried to kill a dragon but he failed. He failed to kill a captured dragon that couldn't fight back. Anyone else would have done it. But he wasn't anyone else. He was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the first human to ride a dragon. He was the viking that would make dragons accepted in the viking society. He was the viking that would mend this afflicted world. And Astrid was now finally there to help him.

Hiccup cried himself to sleep. Astrid was still near him in the forest. She decided to stay near him and protect him there while he slept. She knew that there weren't any dangerous animals in this forest, but if a wild dragon appeared or some random vikings or pirates, she would be here for him.

In the morning, Hiccup had woken up before Astrid. He was slightly surprised to see Astrid near him, hugging him. He remembered her being there before he fell asleep, but he wasn't expecting to see her when he woke up. She actually stood there all night to protect him. This brought a small smile on Hiccup's face. She actually cared for him. Astrid Hofferson cared enough for Hiccup to stay all night in a forest, near an uncomfortable tree to console him. This meant a lot for him. There was actually another human being, except from his mother that had died a long time ago on a boat accident, that cared for him. He thought that Astrid would have a bad reaction if he noticed her like this, so he tried to move a little to wake her up, but without alerting her that he was awake. When he tried to turn around, trying to make himself more comfortable, Astrid woke up.

She slowly removed her arms from around him, she didn't want to explain that she hugged him to make him feel better, and after he fell asleep she kept holding him because she just liked it.

"So you finally woke up?" Astrid said in a quiet voice while trying to get up.

"Five more minutes." He said trying to stay on Astrid's shoulder.

"It's morning already." She said while slowly pushing him away and getting up. "Let's go and get something to eat. We didn't eat anything yesterday." she pointed out while slowly pacing to the cave.

"Fine." Hiccup said while getting up and trying to recover the advantage she got while he was still waking up.

"Are you feeling any better from yesterday?" Astrid asked Hiccup when he managed to get to her.

"Actually yes." Hiccup said with a small smile.

"So you will be fine with me kicking you ass again in training?" Astrid said with a small smile.

"I managed to defeat you a few times, so please." Hiccup said after a small laugh.

"You just got lucky." Astrid said trying to defend her honor.

"So I got lucky like twenty times already?" Hiccup said with a proud smile. Nobody really managed to defeat Astrid. None of the teens on Berk ever managed to defeat her. But Hiccup did, a few times, he defeated her in a fair fight. Well, he was trained by Astrid, but that is not so important.

"Shut up." Astrid finally said trying the end the conversation about Hiccup defeating her. He actually got very good at sword fighting. Even if Astrid was fighting with only one sword and Hiccup with two, he managed to win at least one duel in a day of training. If she would use her axe he wouldn't stand a chance, but for now Astrid was letting him have his moment. She still wasn't going easy on him. But the small injuries that would end their training premature were common on Hiccup. He actually managed to injure her once, when she tried to dodge an attack he managed to make her trip and that caused her to hurt her ankle. She wasn't able to train with him for a few days. She should have even taken it easy for a while longer, but she promised him that she would train him and Astrid didn't go back on her word.

Finally they reached the cave where Ild and Blad were playing at the entrance. They stopped when they noticed the two teens and just glared at them until they entered the cave. Inside there was Toothless with Stormfly sleeping near the fire, and they even brought a boar near the fire. They actually hunted a boar for them. That meant that Toothless finally accepted Astrid as part of the family, he wasn't going to hunt for a stranger and he was definitely not going to let a stranger alone with Hiccup for that long.

"Thanks bud." Hiccup said while approaching the fire and petting the Nightfury.

"They hunted for us?" Astrid asked while approaching the boar to skin it.

"Looks like it. Toothless used to hunt when I was too tired to do it myself." Hiccup said while approaching Astrid. "Need some help with the boar?"

"No. But Hiccup, I was wondering, why aren't you trying to sell all those pelts that you got from all those boars? They could be worth a lot of silvers, and you really killed a lot of stuff while you were here and the fact that I arrived here didn't really help the boar population on the island." Astrid suggested.

"So, I'm just to go riding a dragon to a random village and be like 'Hey, I have pelts. Want to buy?' " Hiccup said with a sarcastic tone and trying to imitate a merchant in a funny way.

"You could if the village is small enough. And you can also go by the name Fáfnir, to make sure they didn't forgot about it." Astrid said while skinning the boar. Hiccup turned around thinking about her idea. This is just insane enough that it could actually work. But only if the village was small and unarmed so they couldn't kill him and the dragon. But if the village was small they wouldn't really have anything useful to trade. Maybe try and catch trader Johann so that he could spread the word and trade with them.

"What about Johann?" Hiccup asked with a small cunning smile, showing that he had a plan.

"That could work, but he trades only in expensive stuff, so you may need a lot of boar hides to trade with him. But that could at least spread the word about a dragon rider. So it might work but I don't really suggest it, yet." Astrid explained her opinion on this plan.

"You're right..." Hiccup said starting to pace in the cave. The idea could work but they needed some place to trade. "Wait. I know." Hiccup said excited.

"What?" Astrid asked looking forward to his plan.

"We can try and sneak back on Berk and get back some of my stuff from the blacksmith. And maybe even get some real swords so I can defend myself in case of something." Hiccup quickly said in one breath.

"WHAT?" Astrid yelled, dropping her dagger in the boar's carcass.

"Just think about it. It's perfect." Hiccup tried to continue his idea.

"No, no, no, no, no. Just, no." Astrid quickly said standing up.

"Why?" Hiccup asked with a disappointed face.

"WHY? You are asking me why? Well, let's begin, YOU are marked as a high traitor to the vikings ways and you most probably have a bounty on your head, and I am banished from the village until I bring YOU back." Astrid said almost yelling at the boy. This woke up the dragons, they started to look worried at the small fight that broke between the two teens.

"That's why I said that we would _sneak_ in the village." Hiccup explained.

"How did you even arrived to this idea? We were talking about trade and now you want to sneak inside Berk. You said that you wanted to raid Berk." Astrid said confused by his plan.

"I don't want to raid Berk. I don't even care about Berk that much, but it's the only place we know well enough to be sure that they have what I am looking for." Hiccup explained.

"And what are you looking for?" Astrid asked slightly annoyed at Hiccup

"There is a special type of metal that is light enough to not slow Toothless while he is flying. I used that metal to make his flying gear and I am pretty sure you noticed that some parts from his flying gear started to rust. Not to say anything about the tail fin." the boy explained.

Astrid sighted defeated, but still not agreeing with his plan. "But what if they catch you, or me? Then what?" Astrid said, yelling the last sentence at him.

"They won't." Hiccup confidently said.

"How do you know that?" Astrid quickly responded.

"I learned how to sneak behind boars and killing them for three months, I learned how to hide my tracks." Hiccup said trying to support his plan. "And I am pretty sure that you don't have any problem sneaking. For Thor's sake you trained all your life to be a viking."

"Hiccup. You could die. You could have a slow and agonizing death." Astrid gave her final argument.

"But this can also be the start to a new viking society accepting dragons." Hiccup said gesturing with his hands.

"Fine." Astrid said exasperated. "But mark my words. If you die, I swear by all gods that I would follow you all the way to Valhalla and kill you." Astrid threaten Hiccup hoping that at least this would change his mind.

"Deal." Hiccup quickly said with a winning smile. He wasn't serious about this, was he? This could get both of them killed, at least one of them. Things could easily turn from bad to worse. Why did he want to do this? "We are leaving at nightfall."

"Wait. Today?" Astrid asked surprised.

"Yes, why not?" Hiccup said beginning to get some supplies in his bag.

"How are we going to get there?" Astrid asked gesturing in the air.

"With Stormly. Toothless can't fly with this tail fin and we will take Ild and Blad with us to help us scout the area." Hiccup explained.

"Wait, so you want to endanger my dragon and also Ild and Blad? But...Hiccup, I swear to all gods that if something happens…"

"…you will kill me. Got it." Hiccup interrupted her while approaching Stormfly and putting his bag near the dragon.

'Does he want to fly back to Berk? Why?' Stormfly asked Toothless with an almost shocked expression.

'Maybe for revenge, or to gather supplies like he is saying, but I am pretty sure that he has a more deceiving plan in his head.' Toothless said with a small grin in his mind. He was actually proud of Hiccup, after only three months he got over Berk and now he was going back not as the useless boy he was, he was now going back as a dragon rider, trying to gather supplies for his master plan. Well, their master plan, Astrid also contributed to it. Toothless was actually happy that he had trusted the girl, she had proven a very valuable ally against the vikings.

'I just hope that I won't break my wing.' Stormfly said still looking at the two teens discussing the plan.

"But still, why Berk of all places?" Astrid asked exasperated by this discussion and his plan. His plan that might get all of them killed.

"First. It's only one hour of flight from here." Hiccup started explaining

"What? Berk is really that close?" Astrid asked with a shocked expression.

"Second. I know the place and how to sneak around it."

"Sure you do." Astrid said under her breath.

"And third. I trust that you aren't going to break my leg and drag me to the village to be accepted as a viking again." Hiccup said while mounting Stormfly.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	8. Confrontation

******Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. ** Also thank _m4yui _for her solitary review on my last chapter.**

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When they reached the cove it was almost nightfall. They quietly dismounted Stormfly and started walking to the village.

"So, we are on Berk." Hiccup said under his breath.

"What?" Astrid asked, not understanding what Hiccup said.

"I never thought that I would visit this place again..." Hiccup said melancholically.

"Now you want us to go back..." Astrid said a little annoyed by Hiccup.

"No, I was just saying." Hiccup quietly said looking around the forest to make sure that there were no vikings around.

"So, what's the plan? Are we just going to sneak into the village and steal the stuff we need?"

"Well, yeah." Hiccup said turning his head to face Astrid.

After about ten or more minutes they reached the village. They stood in the shadows of a small house, examining their surroundings. The village was quiet, there were only a few lights near some houses and only three guards patrolling the area. This had the potential to be a very easy mission. In the worst case scenario they would have to knock unconscious one or two guards, but it seemed that they could get to the forge even without resorting to violence.

"So, what's the plan?" Astrid whispered.

"To get to the forge." Hiccup responded also whispering.

"Easy enough." Astrid said before starting to go around the house and into the market. It wasn't the best idea for them to split up, but Astrid still had to prove that she was the best around. If not to Hiccup at least to herself. She missed being the best young viking on Berk. She missed always being congratulated on her fighting skill. But she wasn't going to trade her new friends for that.

"Blad, go with her." Hiccup said before starting to sneak around the house into the street.

Everything was quiet. A little too quiet. Almost every night there were at least five drunk vikings yelling in the street and making noise. Why were they missing now? This didn't make any sense.

While Astrid was approaching the forge she noticed Blad near her, she figured that Hiccup sent him to help her. The fact that the dragon didn't seem offended by the idea of helping her made Astrid smile a little. Even little Blad accepted her as part of the family. That meant a lot to her. When she reached the forge she noticed that Hiccup was already there.

"How in Thor's name did you managed to get here before me?" She said in a loud whisper.

"I told you that I learned how to sneak very efficient. And on the other hand, I know this village." Hiccup said while examining the weapons. He then grabbed two normal swords and turned to face Astrid. "So, what do you think?"

"Are the swords well balanced? Try having a few swings to see how they feel." Astrid suggested and Hiccup tried to slowly attack an imaginary foe to test the blades.

"They feel good. I could try to make them better, but not now." Hiccup said while getting two sheaths for the swords. "Did you see anyone in the village while you got here?" Hiccup asked.

"No. But wasn't that the plan? To sneak into the village while everyone is asleep." Astrid asked confused.

"Yes, but don't you remember that every night there were some drunk vikings making noise? Now I didn't saw _anyone_." Hiccup said while equipping his new weapons.

"Now that you mentioned it..." Astrid said while looking outside the forge a little paranoid.

"Do you want anything from the forge?" Hiccup asked while going in the back room to get some metal rods that he could later remold in a forge to fit Toothless's flying gear. Then he also got some leather for the tailfin, he tried to find some pieces that were large enough for Toothless's flying gear. And while he was in his back room, he got a few pieces of charcoal to make pencils and some cloth in case they needed to make bandages or something. When he left Berk he remembered to take his journal, but he forgot to bring anything to write in it with. Not one of his brightest moments.

"I might want a shield." Astrid said while slowly turning to look in the forge for a shield.

"A shield is actually a good idea." Hiccup said while depositing all the things in his bag.

"Are any of the shields displayed here in good condition? Or are they here for Gobber to repair them later?" Astrid asked while exploring the forge, not really finding what she was looking for.

"Actually, most of the good weapons and armors are in the back room." Hiccup said while returning in that room and grabbing two shields, passing one to Astrid. "Anything else?" They quickly equipped the shields on their backs.

"No. Let's get out of here." Astrid said before exiting the forge with Blad on her shoulder.

They were quietly sneaking through the village when they heard someone.

"Astrid? Is that you?"

_Shit_.

They had been discovered by someone and even worse, that person recognized Astrid. Everything went almost as planned. They got to Berk, they sneaked into the forge, they got weapons and shields and now they had to sneak out of the village undetected. It wasn't supposed to be that difficult.

"We have to run!" Astrid quietly said to Hiccup before both of them started to run to the forest.

"GUARDS!" They heard someone yell when they almost got out of the village. They hoped that they wouldn't be able to mobilize a search party before they arrived at the cove. While they were running through the forest they heard a dragon screech. It was more like a baby dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. Hiccup stopped and started to look around until he heard the screech one more time. He noticed Ild and Blad running to the cove, but he didn't worried so much about them. The way to the cove was safe and he knew that the two Terrors could take care of themselves.

"We have to help him." Hiccup said while quickly turning to run to the endangered dragon.

"NO!" Astrid yelled "We have to get out of here. We could die if we stay here too much." she said a little worried about the whole situation. And the fact that Hiccup wanted to abandon the original plan and help an unknown dragon while endangering them all didn't help to settle her mind.

"And he could die if we don't help him now." Hiccup said turning his head to face Astrid while still running to the screech. The girl sighed annoyed and started to follow Hiccup. When they arrived at the scene they saw a small red dragon with a white head being surrounded by three wolves. The dragon had two horns on his head and a small horn on his snout. Hiccup quickly draw one sword and charged at the wolves. When Astrid saw Hiccup charging, she got a firm grip on her axe and started to approach the wolves to defend the small dragon.

Hiccup approached a wolf and with a quick attack decapitating the poor animal. Astrid attacked another wolf while jumping to get closer to it, she hit the animal right in the back, the axe slightly getting stuck in the carcass. Then the third wolf tried to jump on Hiccup, but the boy was fast enough to stab the animal with his sword. In less than ten seconds, they stood between three dead wolfs and a small unknown dragon. When they tried to approach the small dragon, a huge flaming red monster appeared from the sky and tried to attack them. It didn't look at all like a Monstrous Nightmare, it was way bigger than that. Luckily for them, the small dragon intervened and stopped the bigger dragon from killing them. The two dragons seemed to know each other. After what seemed like a small conversation the bigger dragon took a more relaxed stance. They both looked amazed at the two dragons. They just made two new friends on Berk. Hiccup wanted to draw those two dragons but decided against it, since it was night and they had to go.

"I think this is his mother." Hiccup said measuring the size of the dragon. Then he slowly approached the small dragon to try and pet it.

"Hiccup, I don't think this is a wise decision." Astrid quickly said noticing Hiccup's intentions.

But the dragons didn't seemed outraged by this, maybe a little surprised, but not angry at the boy. After Hiccup petted the small dragon he slowly said "I hope we will meet again." He then quickly turned around and started running at Astrid. "Let's get to Stormfly fast."

Just as they started to get some distance between them and their new friends, they noticed a few vikings in the distance trying to track them. How had they managed to create a search party in such short time? This could only mean that the village wasn't asleep at all. Even if someone said that they really saw Astrid, that wouldn't make the village to mobilize a search party in such a short time. The only explication was that today was a holiday or a wedding or something like that and the whole village was awake. That meant that the drunk vikings that were on the street were now in The Great Hall and the whole village could be out searching for them now. How had he missed that? He should have figured it out. They just sneaked in Helheim and out without even knowing.

"Astrid." Hiccup said while they were running.

"Yes?" the girl responded a little confused and annoyed. They had a search party after them. This wasn't the time to talk.

"I think that all the vikings were at The Great Hall for a wedding or something. That means that the whole village could be looking for us." Hiccup said a little disappointed at himself for his slow thinking.

"What? Are you serious?" Astrid asked the boy trying not to yell. She needed to keep her calm. They got really lucky this time. It was really a miracle that they didn't encounter more vikings.

"Pretty serious." he said trying to focus more on the running.

When they almost reached the cove, a flying arrow managed to hit Astrid in her left shin. The sudden pain in her leg made Astrid release a small yell, then she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. She knew that if she would yell they would find their position.

Astrid was now a liability. She didn't liked her new position but it was the truth. She couldn't train Hiccup for at least a month. She couldn't hunt for food. She would just sit and eat and sleep all day. The main reason that she remained on the island was because Hiccup convinced her that she wasn't going to be a liability. She hoped that Hiccup didn't noticed and just went without her.

"Shit." she heard him say before turning her head and noticing Hiccup running at her.

"No. Please. Go. You can't carry me. I will slow you down." Astrid said trying to mask the pain, but her voice was filled with panic. She didn't want Hiccup to get caught. She might survive saying that she brought Hiccup to Berk to be judged. But could she really live with herself after that? Even if she was going to die tonight, she at least wanted Hiccup to get home safely.

"This looks bad. Very bad." Hiccup said while kneeling near Astrid trying to examine the damage.

"Hiccup. Just go. Please..."

"Just shut up! I am not going to leave you here to die." Hiccup interrupted her annoyed that she thought he was just going to leave her there to be captured by the vikings of Berk. After all that time he saw her as a friend. And Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III didn't abandon his friends.

"Okay..." Astrid quietly said defeated. She knew that Hiccup was usually very calm and most of the times trying to be sarcastic. He didn't often get angry or agitated, but when he did, he won't listen to anyone. He would just do as he thought fit. So she knew that arguing with him now wouldn't really help their situation. In the worst case, it would only slow them down and get them captured.

Hiccup sighted. "The arrow went through your leg. I will break the arrowhead and the tail and we will take care of the rest when we reach the cave. Are you okay with this plan?" He asked looking at her. He noticed that she was trying to cover all the pain from her leg. It was an ugly injury. But it was treatable, if it didn't get infected.

"Okay." Astrid quietly said. She wouldn't try to speak louder because she was afraid that she would release a small sound of pain that would worry Hiccup or destroy their cover. Even with all this pain she tried to be useful, as useful as she could be in this situation, that meant trying not to create problems.

"Bite this." Hiccup said giving Astrid a small branch from the ground. He knew that broking the arrow would cause a lot of pain in her leg, so he had to give Astrid something to slightly distract her from the sudden outburst of pain. Astrid got the branch from Hiccup and hold it in her mouth, slowly pressing her teeth into it. She then slowly closed her eyes preparing as best as she could for the sudden burst of pain. As Hiccup broke the arrowhead, Astrid did her best trying not to yell in agony. She broke the small branch and she was going to yell until the pain went away. Hiccup noticed this and he quickly placed the side of his right arm in her mouth. Astrid didn't really noticed Hiccup's action, but as he broke the tail of the arrow, she bit his arm. The boy flinched at first, but he tried to keep calm. Astrid didn't need another reason to get worried. She managed to create a pretty ugly looking wound, but it didn't looked that serious. It would heal fast, but it will leave a small scar.

"I'm sorry..." Hiccup said after Astrid calmed down a little. A few tears managed to escape her eyes. She didn't said anything. She just tried to lay down. After a few moments she passed out because of the pain. No one at that age should have an arrow through her leg. Even if she was banished from the village, why would they shoot arrows at her. She was respected here, she had a promising life in front of her. Maybe that's the only reason that she wasn't executed for helping him.

Hiccup slowly raised her and went inside the cove, where the three dragons were waiting for them. The boy slowly placed Astrid on Stormfly's back. The dragon looked worried about her rider. Just before he mounted Stormfly he heard someone yelling.

"Where do you think you are going?" It was Snotlout. He was the last person Hiccup wanted to face right now. When he looked at him, he noticed he had a bow.

"You shot that arrow?" Hiccup asked annoyed looking at his cousin.

"Who else? I am the best marksman in Berk." Snotlout declared proudly.

"So you shot the arrow that hit Astrid?" Hiccup asked angrily while dismounting Stormfly.

"That was meant for you, but yes." Snotlout said throwing the bow on the ground and getting his mace from his belt.

"So how are you the best marksman if you missed me and shot Astrid?" he said while approaching his cousin. "You know that I am going to kill you for that, right?" Hiccup said in a threatened tone while equipping his swords.

"You are fighting with two swords. That is not how a viking fights." Snotlout said with a mocking tone.

"I am not a viking." Hiccup said before charging at the other boy. He never really had any possibility to fight back Snotlout in the past, after all the times he was just mocking and hitting him, this is the first time when things got serious. At first, Hiccup tried to throw a multitude of attack at Snotlout, trying to make his cousin lose his balance or his weapon. But Snotlout was an experienced fighter, he was the best after Astrid, so he managed to parry and dodge all of Hiccup's attacks, but in order to do so, he had to slowly back away, that would mean that at one point he would reach the wall of the cove and then he wouldn't really have a way to safely dodge or parry Hiccup's attacks. So he had to fight back. He allowed Hiccup to show up for almost a minute. Now was his time.

Snotlout violently parried an attack from Hiccup's right sword and this made Hiccup flinch a little and lose his momentum. He actually thought that he had the upper hand. He actually thought that he was now good enough to defeat his cousin. Now Snotlout started to attack Hiccup. The attacks with his mace were strong. Hiccup wasn't as strong as his cousin. not by a long shot, so he had to use both his weapons to block an attack. Things had took a turn to the worst. This was not what he planned. He was stupid enough to charge at his cousin in a blinding rage.

Snotlout was just mocking Hiccup again. He allowed Hiccup to attack him, so that the boy could get some confidence and try something bold. Snotlout was a lot more clever in combat that Hiccup initially thought. But he had to win this fight.

This fight will determine the future of Berk. If he would take too long and Astrid bled to death, or got her wound infected and she died, Hiccup would go on a rampage on Berk, even if it would cost him his life. If Hiccup would die and Astrid would recover from her injury, then she would go on a rampage on Berk. If they both died, then Berk would live, until Snotlout is chief and then he would most probably destroy the village from inside. There wasn't really any good outcome from this fight for Berk.

With all those heavy attacks from Snotlout, Hiccup had to back away from him until he almost reached the small pound in the cove. _This is how I die_. Hiccup slowly said in his mind. Then a small fire hit Snotlout's face. His cousin let out a small yell of pain and covered his face with his free arm. Hiccup quickly looked around and noticed his small dragon, Ild charging at the viking.

"You can't do anything without your little flying shits. Can you cousin?" Snotlout said insulting Hiccup. Then Ild managed to bit his free arm, the one that was covering his face. The dragon hold a strong grip, Ild was still biting his arm, ignoring the fact that Snotlout was violently shaking it trying to make the dragon fall. _This is all I needed_. Hiccup thought before hitting his cousin's mace with both his swords at the same time. Snotlout was distracted by the small dragon and ignored Hiccup, that was a terrible mistake. He lost his mace. Now he was unarmed against a foe with two blades and a dragon.

Before Snotlout even managed to turn his head to face Hiccup, the dragon rider powerfully kicked him in the chest, throwing the him to the ground. Then Hiccup slowly approached the stunned viking and slowly pressed his sword on Snotlout's neck.

This was it. He would finally have revenge on the person that tormented all his childhood. He had the power to finish the person that caused him to spend so many night crying in his mother's arms. And continued to torture him even after his mother died. This person in front of him managed to destroy all his self confidence and his self respect. This was the person that made him think that he was useless, that he was a mistake of nature, that everything would have been better if he would just die. This person, that was his cousin, that was his family, that should have supported him, or at least tried to help him, was lying in front of him with his sword at his neck.

He could just end that painful chapter of his life. He just needed to press a little harder and everything would be over. He would lead Berk in total chaos without a heir. He had the power to destroy the village that tormented him for so long. He started to press the blade on his cousin's neck until it started to draw blood.

"Hiccup, don't." He heard a voice. He slowly turned his head around to see Astrid lying on Stormfly with an arm pointed at him. "He is not worth the effort. Just... Just let the asshole.

He looked back at his cousin. He was lying on the ground terrified. He made this. He just wanted to end that chapter of his life, so that he can move forward. He wanted to have his damned revenge on the boy. He had the power to do it. But he was slowly backing away from his cousin.

Hiccup was a lot of things. He was a blacksmith apprentice. He was the heir of one of the most powerful tribes in the archipelago. He was a traitor. He was an inventor. He was a damned genius. He was the first dragon rider and the first one to befriend dragons. But none of those titles gave him the right to kill another human being. But he could. He could just bend the rules to kill that miserable person in front of him. But was that the way he wanted to end that chapter in his life? By murder? NO. He was better than this. He had to be better than this. How could he teach people about dragons if everyone viewed him as a criminal?

His anger slowly started to dissipate when he turned and started walking to Stormfly. He turned his head and looked for one last time at Snotlout. He was still staying on the ground, terrified. He defeated his cousin in combat, with all his weapons and abilities. But he would have never managed to defeat him without his friends. He would have never been able to chose the right path without his friends. Hiccup finally had friends that were going to risk their lives to protect him. He slowly mounted Stormfly and turned Astrid in a more comfortable position.

"Thanks." She quietly said.

"How is the pain?" Hiccup asked a little worried, but finally putting the important things first.

"I had better days." Astrid said with a small smile at which Hiccup released a small laugh.

"Tell them that Fáfnir sparred your miserable life." Hiccup said not even facing Snotlout while Stormfly was flying them away from Berk. Astrid passed out again in his arms and Hiccup could only imagine the pain she is going through right now.

...

"Stormfly, land there!" Hiccup said to the dragon a few minutes after they left Berk. He couldn't take Astrid all the way back to his island in this condition. The wound itself wasn't that fatal, but the bleeding or the infection that could come with the wound were. He needed to stop or at least slow the bleeding.

When they landed, he quickly took the rope that he used to steer Stormfly and tied it around her leg, little above the injury point. This would reduce the bleeding by a certain level. But he also needed to apply some pressure to the wound. He took a piece of cloth from his bag and quickly washed it with water from his flask. Then he wrapped the cloth around the injured area, trying not to touch the remaining arrow piece. He noticed Astrid flinching a little. She was still unconscious, so at least she wasn't feeling the pain, or at least Hiccup hoped that she wasn't. He then slowly raised her up, trying not to move or touch the injured area, and placed her on Stormfly, after that he also mounted the dragon.

"Let's go back home, girl." Hiccup said in a low and sad voice, at which Stormfly released a small whine and took off, flying as fast as she could towards their island.

...

When they finally reached his island, Stormfly landed right in front of the cave. Hiccup quickly carried Astrid inside the cave and arranged her fur cloak near a rock, so she wouldn't have to sit on the cold floor of the cave. He arranged the cloak in a way that it partially covered the rock, so she would stay in a sitting position. The next on the list was to wash some cloth that he brought from Berk. Just before he exited the cave he heard a voice.

"Hiccup..." it was a weak and quiet call of his name. He turned around and noticed Astrid slowly waking up. He quickly kneeled near her and touched her forehead, to see if she had any fever.

"I'm here, don't worry. I just need to wash some cloth and then we can take care of your leg." He said trying to get out of the cave, but Astrid grabbed his hand.

"Please don't leave me." she said with sad and scared voice. She looked at him with almost begging eyes.

"But I need clean cloth to bandage your leg." Hiccup said trying to move again, but Astrid's grip was still strong.

"Please..." she said again. Astrid was actually afraid of her condition. She had injuries before, but none this serious. She passed out because of the pain two times already. She never passed out before. She needed him here to comfort her. She really needed a friendly face to help her now. Astrid needed someone to tell her that everything will be alright, that this is only a small wound and she could return to training in a few weeks.

"Is this the mighty Astrid Hofferson begging?" Hiccup said in a sarcastic tone, trying to distract her from the fact that he had to leave for a few minutes and from the pain.

"Yes, if that would make you stay." she quietly said looking at him with her scared and watery eyes. Hiccup's face turned serious. She actually really needed him right now.

"Okay. I will quickly wash some cloth with water from a flask. I am not going to leave this cave. Is this okay with you?" he asked. Astrid quietly nodded. She was trying to hide the pain. She was trying to look tough, trying to ignore the fact that she almost begged him to stay a few seconds ago. Hiccup might never see her again like the strong viking she wanted to be, he might not even see her as a tough person, but she needed his help, she couldn't possibly take care of that injury on her own. And in a weird way, she wanted Hiccup to take care of her. He looked like he wasn't going to judge her for her weakness. He looked like he saw something in her more than just a warrior or a personal trainer. But she was afraid that he will reject her after this. After being a liability and after seeing her afraid.

Hiccup quickly went to the flasks and washed some pieces of cloth and returned to her. He then swiftly dried the cloth as best as he could.

"So. How do you want to do this." he asked starting to untie the bandage that he put on her wound earlier. She released a small groan of pain at his action.

"I just want it all to end. It hurts like a bitch." she complained. Trying to regain her tough imagine. She knew that she looked very vulnerable when she begged Hiccup not to leave, it was a weak action that she did when she was scared, but now she was slowly waking up and starting to regain her old self. She hated that Hiccup saw her like that.

"So, I will just remove the arrow and then bandage the area and hope for the best?" Hiccup said trying to make a plan.

"Whatever. Just get over with. It's starting to get uncomfortable." She said lying her head on the rock behind her and covering her face with her palms.

"The arrow?" Hiccup asked with a confused face.

"If I wouldn't need you to remove that piece of shit I swear I would've punched you so hard..." She said trying to form a threat.

"Okay..." Hiccup said while kneeling near her. "Do you want something to bite?"

Astrid calmly shook her head and said "No, just, let's get over with." she was slightly happy with Hiccup's concern, but she couldn't really think about it with all that pain in her leg.

"Here we go..." Hiccup said under his breath trying to get in a position to pull out the remaining piece of arrow perpendicularly, then he placed a strong grip on the part of the arrow that exited through the shin and his other hand has placed on her leg, around the wound, trying to hold her leg down. When Hiccup placed his grip on the arrow, Astrid gasped. She still wasn't looking at her leg or even at Hiccup. She just stayed with her head on the rock looking at the ceiling. She was doing her best to ignore the pain and the situation she was in.

Hiccup tried to pull the whole piece of wood with a quick move, but he stopped half way when Astrid released a very powerful yell. He then quickly stood up and started to pace in the cave.

"SON OF A..." Astrid yelled, while slowly bending forwards in a reflex trying to hold her leg to reduce the pain. "Gods..." she said while looking at the wound. This was actually the first time when she looked directly at her wound. "Who shoot that cursed arrow?" Astrid asked not even trying to hide the pain and anger in her voice. She just needed to find out who that person was so that she can slowly dismember the archer.

"Snotlout." Hiccup said still pacing the cave trying to calm down.

"WHAT?" Astrid yelled. "That son of a whore shot that arrow?" She asked while looking at Hiccup nervously pacing.

"Yes." he said still not looking at her yet. He needed to calm himself down before he could help her.

"Hiccup... Why did you listened to me when I told you not to kill him?" Astrid said slowly lying back on the rock behind her.

"I thought that you didn't want me to go through what I went after I killed that pirate." Hiccup said slowly approaching her.

"I just recovered after I passed out. I didn't know what I was saying." she said trying to light the mood. Maybe the adrenaline finally started to kick in, making her less affected by the pain. "Now can we please just get over with this?".

"I...I don't want to hurt you again..." Hiccup said while kneeling near Astrid. The girl laughed a little at Hiccup's response.

"Hiccup, if I have to remove that arrow by myself, I will kill you and then go to Valhalla and kill you again." Astrid said slowly turning her head to face Hiccup.

"Please don't yell like that again..." Hiccup said while placing a grip on the remaining arrow piece and on her leg.

"Sorry..." she said covering her face with her hands and taking a few deep breaths. "Okay, I'm ready." Hiccup was preparing to pull the arrow out of her leg just before she quickly said "Wait. Can you bring me some water before?" And Hiccup slowly released his grip trying not to hurt her, and brought a flask. She quickly drank a little water and then poured some water on her head and face. She knew that this was going to hurt like Hel and she wanted to prepare herself for the worst.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked while placing a grip on the arrow and on her leg around the wound.

"Wait a few seconds." Astrid quickly responded.

"Need something else?" the boy asked looking worried at her.

"Just some time" she said.

"Astrid, I know that this hurts like Hel, but if I don't get to bandage your leg soon the wound might get infected. Not to say that after I moved the arrows, you started to bleed." Hiccup said trying to explain her that they don't have much time.

"Okay. Okay. I know. I am ready now." Astrid said lying on the rock again. After she felt Hiccup holding a grip on the arrow she quickly said. "Can you get..."

"Astrid!" Hiccup quickly interrupted her. "You think this is easy? I really care for you and I have to prepare myself for the psychical wound I will receive after causing you pain again. I don't want to have to do this. I don't want to see you suffer like this. So can we please just get over with so that I can go and hate myself for taking you to Berk?" Hiccup exasperated said.

"But I don't want to..." Astrid said while slowly bending forward and almost sobbing because of the pain. "I HATE this cursed pain. And please don't blame yourself..." she said while slowly wiping her eyes.

"I can't _not_ blame myself. That arrow was meant for me. Even Snotlout said so." Hiccup said while slowly pushing Astrid back to lie on the rock.

"Snotlout is an imbecile. And if that arrow hit you, I would have gutted him where he stood." Astrid quickly shot back.

"I know. I know So, are you ready?" Hiccup said with a sad voice, trying to believe what she said. Then he placed a grip on the arrow again and on her leg again.

"No..." Astrid quietly said.

But Hiccup didn't care for her answer. Not now. He had to remove that cursed arrow and bandage her leg. But then he had an idea.

"Hey Astrid." Hiccup said releasing the arrow.

"It is over?" she said slowly opening her eyes.

"What if we put Toothless cauterize the wound. That way, we know that it wouldn't get infected and it will heal faster." Hiccup said while looking at her, waiting for her answer.

"Doesn't caute-rize" Astrid said trying to pronounce the word correctly, "means burning the flesh?" she asked with almost a scared face. She really didn't wanted any more pain, but that way the wound wouldn't get infected. She saw Gothi cauterize wounds before and she remembered the yells, but she never saw a dragon cauterize a wound before.

"Well, yes." Hiccup said while scratching the back of his neck.

"Did Toothless ever cauterized a wound before?" Astrid asked with a worried expression.

"Okay. Bad idea." Hiccup said while placing a grip on that damned arrow and on her leg for gods know how many times before.

"No. Bring Toothless. The faster this wound will heal, the faster I can return to beating your ass in training." she said trying not to seem worried about this.

Hiccup turned to face her and asked "Are you sure?"

"No. But please do it fast before I change my mind." She said lowering her head on the rock behind her.

The Nightfury didn't hesitate to come to the two teens. Stormfly told him everything that happened on Berk. He was going to hurt that Jorgenson boy. Toothless actually got a liking to Astrid. He got used to her violent ways, knowing that she wouldn't willingly hurt Hiccup. And no one hurt his family and got away with it.

"Toothless, after I will remove the arrow, I need you to hold Astrid down and shot a small flame to the wound on her leg." Hiccup explained when Toothless arrived.

"When you say it like that it sound a lot more terrifying..." Astrid said covering her face with her hands.

Then, without any warning, she felt a horrible, sharp pain in her leg. And without her even realizing, she started to bend forward to hold her leg, at which Toothless quickly pushed her back on the rock with his paw. The dragon tried not to press her to hard, because he knew that she didn't want any of this, but it was for the best. Hiccup quickly immobilized her left leg with his hands and Toothless approached his snout to the wound and released a small flame. Astrid released a yell at the sudden burn and started to curse Hiccup under her breath. But it wasn't quiet enough and Hiccup noticed her, but he figured it's only because he didn't announce her before pulling the arrow, and a little because he convinced her to cauterize the wound. Then Hiccup quickly raised her leg so that Toothless can cauterize the entry wound. After the second burn she started to think of different ways to get her revenge on Hiccup. At least he could have told her when he was going to pull that cursed arrow. Then she felt something cold on the wound. What in Thor's name was he doing now. She moved her head a little and noticed that Hiccup was now bandaging her leg. He quickly finished the job and said "Thanks for the help, bud."

After the dragon released her from the rock, she was going to punch Hiccup's face as hard as she could, but something took her by surprise. He quickly jumped and hugged her. Why was he hugging her?

"I'm sorry..." Hiccup said quietly.

"Why in Thor's name didn't you announced me before pulling that damned arrow?" she asked trying to be angry, but his act just threw away all her anger.

"Because then you could have said that you weren't ready or something like that. And I just didn't have any more energy for another break." Hiccup said still hugging her. He was actually holding her in a strong grip.

"You didn't have the energy? What about me?" she said slightly surprised by his answer.

"_I did this."_ he said. "Because of me you had to go through all that pain. It's only my fault." Hiccup continued with a sad voice.

"No. You helped me. You removed that cursed arrow. I couldn't have done it on my own. Thank you." Astrid said trying to comfort him. How is that she needed to comfort him? She was the one that just had an arrow through her leg. She was the one that went through all that pain. And Hiccup was looking more of a victim than her.

She wanted to bring that subject, but she couldn't, he was looking like he was going to break down. But for Thor's sake, she was the one that went through Helheim and he was the one that was going to break down...

"Hiccup, how is that you..."

"Please don't." he interrupted her.

"If you don't want to talk, then what are we going to do?" she asked still wanting to ask him how he was _so _affected by this.

"Try to sleep. I hadn't got any sleep since before we planned to go to Ber." he said trying to sit near her leaning on the rock. She moved a little to make room for him near her. He quickly accepted the space and moved closer, then he slowly leaned his head on her shoulder, it was a little uncomfortable for him since he was taller than her, but he didn't care.

"Wasn't I supposed to lean my head on your shoulder?" Astrid asked a little amused by his awkwardly uncomfortable position.

"I don't know. he quickly responded.

"You really want to sleep?" she asked him.

"Yes." Hiccup said. He had his eyes closed and all his responses came quickly. He really looked tired, but that might have been another one of his plans, trying to stay near her. She didn't really minded that, but she wanted to see how far was he going to go to sit near her. She didn't even noticed the pain slowly disappearing.

"But if you are really that tired you can go sleep in your sleeping bag." she said trying to make him uncomfortable.

"I am not going to leave you after you passed out two times in my arms. I was afraid that you would die from the shock or the bleeding before we reached the island." Hiccup said with a very serious tone. "And on the other hand, your hair smells nice."

Astrid released a small laugh and slowly left her head to lean on Hiccup's. She quickly noticed that he fallen asleep. It wasn't long until she joined him.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	9. First

******Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and especially this chapter. ****Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**  


* * *

In the morning, Astrid was the first to wake up. The first thing she noticed was that the fire had been lighted. She didn't remember Hiccup lighting the fire before he treated her leg and she would have noticed if he tried and move from near her. That meant that the dragons were helping Hiccup to take care of her. Her entire new family was taking care of her. Even when she was on Berk, she had always took care of her wounds on her own, her parents had taught her to be independent and to not trust anyone when she was in a weak position. She was taught not to trust anyone to treat her wounds, only if the injury was too serious and she couldn't treat it on her own, but even then she should be careful.

But she trusted Hiccup. She trusted the boy with her life. Damn, she even wanted to sacrifice herself so that Hiccup could escape Berk. But he came back for her. He came back for her even when he knew that if he would have been captured, he would be executed with the Blood Eagle. He risked his life to save a person that never helped him with anything. She ignored him when they were on Berk. He helped her befriend Stormfly and accepted her in his house. After everything he had done for her, she did almost nothing to return the favor. She only helped him to train, to learn how to fight. But he, he saved her life.

"What are you thinking about?" Hiccup asked looking in the fire. She didn't even notice the boy waking up. She usually wouldn't miss something like that, but she was distracted, she felt like he helped her way too much.

"Why did you save me? You could have just left me there to be captured by Berk's vikings." She asked trying to face him. He was still lying with his back on the rock, in a sitting position and with his head slightly leaned on her shoulder.

"Would you have left me there?" Hiccup asked while raising his head and slightly moving away so that he could face her.

"No. But you already saved me before..." She said with a sad expression.

"When?" Hiccup asked slightly confused.

"When I arrived on your island. You gave me food, water and shelter. When I wanted to attack Stormfly, she could have killed me, but you stopped me and made me understand that dragons aren't a threat. I did nothing to help you..." She said gesticulating, trying to avoid his eyes. She felt like she owed him too much and she had no idea how to repay him back. Hiccup had saved her life three times, and she did nothing but help him train. Even Hiccup tried to help her to ride a dragon, so the whole deal with the training wasn't going to matter since he was also training her. But she wasn't going to fly with Stormfly any time soon.

"You taught me how to fight. That's the only reason I am here now. If I wouldn't have trained with you, I would be dead or captured now." Hiccup said looking at her sad expression. She wasn't even facing at him, she was looking at the ground.

"But that doesn't even get close to what you did for me..."

"You can still help! It's not like you are immobilized forever." He said trying to make a joke to lighten up the mood.

"But even now, you will have to help me for at least a few weeks. How in Thor's name am I going to repay you if things are still going like this!?" She said almost yelling. She didn't like to owe anything to anyone. That made her feel weak. She hated feeling weak. That was not the way to become a viking. But she couldn't become a viking anymore. Snotlout saw them flying away and he was going to tell the villagers of Berk that they allied and that she was weak now. That she trusted the dragons now. And she was going to get killed on sight if she ever returned to Berk.

"You already did." Hiccup said trying to look into her eyes.

"How? When?" She faced him. She was really interested in hearing his arguments to his declaration.

"You showed me that I can trust humans. You showed me that not all humans are as closed minded as the rest of Berk. When we trained, you treated me like a warrior. You didn't gave me any advantages, even if I am a hiccup, even if I never fought before. You treated me with respect and that meant a lot more than you could possibly imagine. So we are equals. Stop trying to think that you owe me something just because I helped you." Hiccup said looking in her eyes.

He noticed a small sparkle in her sapphire blue eyes, maybe it was because of the fire. With his right hand he slowly moved away her bangs that covered her left eye. She unconsciously smiled at his gesture. She didn't look outraged by it, she didn't even tried to punch him after his action.

So he was going to take a leap of faith.

He slowly closed his eyes and started to approach her. He was going to do it. He was going to try and kiss Astrid Hofferson. He was expecting a punch, but when it didn't come, he felt a little more confident so he continued to lean in.

When Astrid noticed Hiccup slowly closing his eyes and drawing near her, she knew his intentions. She felt happy. That meant that Hiccup liked her. And he was going to try and kiss her. Hiccup was going to _kiss_ her. She slowly closed her eyes, still smiling, closing in on Hiccup.

They could almost feel each other's breaths. When there suddenly was a noise of something falling and hitting the ground. Astrid quickly turned her head and saw Toothless and Stormfly staring at them, with a boar in front of them. Then she felt Hiccup's head on her right shoulder releasing a loud sigh. She chuckled a little at Hiccup, but she also wanted that kiss. She wanted it to happen. And those two dragons interrupted them. She was slightly amused by the situation, but also a little disappointed.

'I think we interrupted them.' Stormfly said noticing the scene.

'They will get over it. That's what happens when you sleep late and you don't have food stored. You will have two hungry dragons going to hunt and bring back their prey.' Toothless picked up the boar and brought it closer to them so that they could begin to skin it and then to cook it.

'But shouldn't we let them have their moment? They went through a lot in the last day. And a little distraction from her injured leg would have helped her.' Stormfly said, slowly following Toothless.

'They will have other moments. And they will thank us later that we went hunting instead of them.' Toothless said, leaving the boar near Astrid and going to sit near the fire. He didn't have a lot of things to do, he couldn't fly, he didn't really like to hunt, he didn't have to fight. So most of the time he spent sleeping in the cave. Even for a dragon, Toothless was considered very lazy by Stormfly.

"Thanks Toothless." Astrid said while trying to cheer Hiccup up. "Don't you worry. You will have your _moment of glory_," she said trying to raise Hiccup from her shoulder.

"But I wanted _this_ moment..." Hiccup said with a disappointed look on his face. Astrid chuckled a little at the boy and hugged him, surprising him. She never hugged him before for no good reason. "Thanks." He awkwardly said.

"Let's go outside!" Astrid declared, still smiling.

"Su... Sure." Hiccup said stuttering a little. Then he got up and helped Astrid get up on her good leg, after she was somehow stable, he got her left arm and placed it around his neck, to help her walk.

Toothless quickly raised his head when he heard their intention to go outside.

'What is wrong with them? Aren't they hungry or something?' He said with an annoyed tone.

'That is what happens when you interrupt them when they have their moments.' Stormfly said slightly amused by Toothless's reaction.

'It's not my fault that their mating rituals are very slow.' Toothless said slowly getting up trying to stop the teens from leaving the cave.

'Let them go.' Stormfly said noticing Toothless's reaction.

'How am I going to eat this fur ball? I don't know how to remove the fur like the humans do." The Nightfury said before releasing a low growl.

Stormfly was just sitting near the fire, laughing at Toothless's complaints. He was a very intelligent dragon. He taught her how to understand what the humans said. He was an excellent hunter, knowing how to attract the prey into his traps. But he was lazier than a cat.

The two teens slowly walked to the beach. It was almost noon. The sun was up in the sky and it was pretty warm for this time of year. Hiccup helped Astrid sit down near a rock, then he sat near her.

"So...Can I have...Uhm...My moment of glory now?" Hiccup awkwardly asked, tying to make an attractive smile, but failing horribly. Astrid slowly laughed, almost giggling at Hiccup's intentions.

"I don't know. Can you?" Astrid said with a sweet smile on her face. She was expecting Hiccup to finally kiss her, they wouldn't be interrupted by their dragons this time.

"Yes. You're right. What was I thinking? I am sorry that I..." Hiccup started to say with a sad expression while awkwardly gesticulating. This made Astrid slightly annoyed and she stopped him with a small kiss on his cheek. Hiccup stopped talking and was still with his hands in the air when she did. He slightly blushed and Astrid almost giggled at his reaction.

"You don't want your _moment of glory_?" She asked with a sarcastic tone. Hiccup hadn't recovered from her action. He was still shocked, staring at her.

"Y...You aren't mad at my guts?" Hiccup asked stuttering. He was slowly came back to reality from her small kiss. Astrid kissed him. How did _that_ happen?

"I am actually a little surprised that you tried to kiss me back in the cave." Astrid said still smiling at him.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked under his breath. Then Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! Why did you do that?!" He slowly rubbed his injured shoulder.

"So, are you dreaming?" She asked getting a little annoyed at Hiccup's slow reactions. She wanted for them to have their first kiss. And Hiccup was stalling.

"No. I am very much awake." He said starting to have a small smile. This was like his dream come truth. He had a crush on Astrid since they were kids. He always liked her. And now there is a chance that she liked him back. How could she like him? He was not the strong viking every girl is looking for. He was just a hiccup. His smile slowly started to fade. Maybe she was just pretending to like him to make him feel better, or to make up to him. But he didn't care if they were even or not. "Why do you like me?" Hiccup asked looking at her. Astrid's smile slowly started to fade.

"What do you mean, 'why do I like you'?" Astrid asked confused. Why would he ask something like that?

"I think it's pretty straight forward. Why do you like me?" Hiccup asked again looking at her. He wanted her to like him, that would make him the happiest man alive. But what if she had just grown use to him being around? Being the only other human she saw and talked with in the last month.

"I like the way you view things different. I like the way you used to create problems in Berk and then how you managed to ignore everyone and still create new inventions and weapons. I like the way you managed to defeat me with an unusual style of fighting and how you learned to fight with two swords. I like the way you started to build muscles. I like your emerald eyes. I like that you managed to convince me that dragons aren't harmful creatures. I like the way you care about people even if they did nothing to deserve you attention. " She spoke slowly, looking at him. It might seem weird that she only started to talk to him since she found him on his island. But she always liked him. But her damned reputation didn't let her do anything about that. She always regretted not helping him fight back Snotlout. She was a fool. And now, he is doubting her reasoning.

"But then why did you never help me back on Berk?" Hiccup asked trying to organize all the new information he got. Her next answer would decide the future of their relationship.

"Because I was afraid that if I made a move, I would have ruined my reputation. That everyone would think that I was a weakling. I just hoped that in time, I would stop liking you. But it never happened. Why do you think I almost got executed? Why do you think I tried to protect you and your dragon?" She asked a little annoyed. She understood his distrust on her feelings. He had all the rights to distrust her. But she wanted him to accept her.

"So. Let me understand. You hoped to stop liking me so that you could be a shield maiden?" Hiccup asked. He wasn't sure what he wanted her to answer. He just hoped that she would somehow manage to change his mind.

"I was a fool and I am sorry. Okay? I was a fool back on Berk and I regret ignoring you. Maybe if I wasn't such a selfish coward we would be on Berk, training or something. There are a lot of things that I would have done different." Astrid said slowly placing her face in her hands. She didn't want to look at Hiccup. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to be happy with her. But she had done too many mistakes in the past to expect him to forgive her.

She felt a small touch on her hand, trying to make her look at him. She slowly raised her head and when her face was out of her palms. When she was almost looking at him, he quickly drew towards her and placed a short kiss on her lips. That caught Astrid off guard. She quietly stared at Hiccup as he slowly backed away. His action had definitely surprised her. But she was happy that he finally _did_ kiss her. He finally had the guts to do it. She hadn't realized that she wasn't breathing the whole time she was staring at him. She quickly took a gasp of air before lunging forward to kiss him back. The sudden movement hurt her leg a little, but she decided to ignore it for now.

Before Hiccup even realizing, he was lying on his back with Astrid partially over him. After her attack, she slowly rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him.

"Th-thanks." Hiccup said stuttering, still not fully believing that he kissed Astrid Hofferson and she kissed him back. How did that happen? Astrid slowly giggled at his reaction. He was starring at the clouds. He didn't say another word for a few minutes.

"Why are you so silent?" Astrid asked him. He might have fainted. He never was that calm after she hugged him. Now that she kissed him, she expected him to stutter or have a panic attack.

"I am still not sure if I am dreaming or not. And if I am, I don't want to make noise to wake myself up." Hiccup said slowly turning his head to face her.

"You aren't dreaming, stupid." Still, her smile was tender.

"I'll take your word for it." He cheeked.

"Hiccup, there's something very important I need to tell you."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." The look on her face was one he had never seen before. Calm, tender, and affectionate.

"F-For what, exactly?" That had been his first kiss, and by no means was it outstanding in his own eyes. Maybe he was a better kisser then he thought?

"I..." she started. "I am a cold person. I'm often mean and threatening. I don't really have any friends, and my family was somewhat disjointed. Regardless, you still care about me, you gave me a new purpose. You…made me a better person. Hiccup, you're the first true friend I have ever had. More than a friend, really. So... thank you."

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. In the end, he just smiled back at her.

Astrid had her weight on her arms as her stomach and chest pressed against his. They were both silent as she pushed the hair away from his eyes. Once more, she kissed him, put this time it was deeper, more sure. When she pulled away, she gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was trying to calm his heartbeat. Surely, she could feel it she was so close to him. Here Astrid was, acting so sweet and gentle, he could barely contain himself.

"Are you okay, Hiccup?"

"Perfect, why?"

"You've been totally still!"

"I'm... just trying to drink it all in."

She grinned and leaned off of him a bit. "We should get back to the cave. None of us have eaten since before we left."

"Right." He amended, and he wormed out from under her.

In the heat of the moment, Astrid had completely forgotten about the pain in her leg, but it all came back to her when she tried to stand.

"Shit! Son of a half-troll!" She cursed and fell back. Hiccup rushed to her instantly as she grit her teeth in pain. "There goes my good mood."

He knelt by her side and took a hold of her leg. Softly, he pressed his lips to the wound and caressed her thigh. "Better?"

She looked at him with confusion. "You didn't even do anything."

Obviously, Astrid was not the type for sentiment. "Okay, lets just get you back to the cave where we can properly prop you up". He grasped her hand and pulled her to stand. With just one step, she winced and a few tears leaked out.

"It really frickin' hurts!" She bemoaned.

With a worrisome sigh, he scooped her up into his arms and began to carry her. "Put me down! I can manage!" She commanded.

"No, not until we reach the cave."

"But you can't carry me."

"Sure I can!" Still, his strain was in his voice. "If I can carry a boar, or lift heavy weapons at the forge, I can carry you."

"But—…"

"Please," He hushed. "I don't like to see you in pain."

With no more arguments to make, Astrid looped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "Thank you."

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	10. Iron

******Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and a few scenes from this chapter. ************Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions so far.**

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Astrid slowly woke up. She had slept near Hiccup, she remembered them talking most of the night and changing small kisses from time to time. She was happy with their new relation. She was overjoyed by being his girlfriend. They were officially together only for a day, but that didn't changed all the feelings she built up in time. She noticed that Hiccup wasn't near her anymore. He woke up before her and left the cave. Again. She really wished that he would wake her up when he did, that way they could spend more time together. Even before their relation started, she liked to spend time with him. He had proven himself to be a growing challenge to her training. He always used to talk in terms that she didn't fully understood, but she tried to learn stuff from him. He was an excellent strategist, even if he didn't know it, he actually helped her improve her tactics in combat, but she wasn't going to tell him that. She didn't want him to become a selfish, overconfident boy like Snotlout.

"Hiccup?" she said slowly getting in sitting position. She looked around in the cave, but didn't see him. Only Toothless was near the fire, sleeping. Not even Stormfly was here. "Good morning Toothless!" Astrid said trying to wake the dragon. She knew that he wasn't a _morning dragon_ and that he most probably would get annoyed at her, but she needed to find Hiccup. Toothless slowly opened one eye and looked at the girl with a sleepy look.

'Please don't tell me you want to go to Hiccup...' Toothless said with a sleepy tone.

"Can you please help me find Hiccup?" Astrid said with a small smile looking at Toothless.

'Go find him yourself!' Toothless said, turning his head to away from her, as a sign that he wanted to be left alone.

"Please don't be like that..." Astrid said with a sad voice.

'You can handle yourself, woman. Let me sleep!' Toothless shot back getting annoyed.

"Pretty please? I can't walk on my own..." Astrid said noticing that the dragon wasn't turning.

'Why do you like to torture me?' Toothless responded raising his head and looking at the girl with an annoyed expression.

"I just really like Hiccup and I want to spend time with him and I am sorry that he doesn't wake me up when he does..." Astrid said trying to reason with the dragon. She was getting excited to see Hiccup again, she really wanted to see how he would react to their new relationship. Before he used to be so clumsy and distracted, now she wanted to see how he would react with a boosted confidence. Toothless slowly raised up and started to stretch to get the sleep out of his body. He then approached the girl with an annoyed expression.

'What are you waiting for?' he said lying near the girl so that she can get on him.

"Thank you Toothless. I appreciate this." She said smiling while trying to get on the dragon. It took her a few minutes with a lot of breaks because of the pain. It was hard to get up and on his back while trying to use only one leg.

The dragon slowly walked out of the cave, trying not to move to fast to accidentally hurt the girl. She was annoying at times but he liked her. Toothless considered her as part of the family now. He was going to protect her if she needed it, but Hiccup was still his number one priority. They slowly walked to the beach, where Hiccup was training. She noticed him panting while holding his two swords. She had no idea _how_ was he training. Just before she could say hello, a number of spikes flew at Hiccup. She almost yelled at the sight. But the boy managed to parry and dodge all of the spikes. She then noticed Stormfly launching the spikes at him.

"What in Hel's name are you two _doing?_" she yelled at them.

"Hey, good morning." Hiccup said getting in a more relaxed position and starting to approach her.

"Don't you 'good morning' me! Why is Stormfly shooting spikes at you?" Astrid asked, still yelling at him.

"She helps me train." Hiccup said trying to help Astrid dismount Toothless.

"By shooting fucking spikes at you? What in Thor's name is wrong with you? Did I hit you too hard in the head or did you just lost your mind?" she was still yelling at him, but she accepted his and after that Hiccup helped her walk and sit at the base of a tree.

"Maybe it's by the fact that you kissed me." Hiccup said trying to make a joke.

"That's not funny! She could accidentally injure you. And by the wound on your hand I figure she already did. Why are you so damned reckless?" she said pointing to his right arm. He was an intelligent viking, which is a very rare combination. But if by kissing him a few times he lost his mind, she was going to stop. Even if that meant that they wouldn't be together, he would at least be uninjured and alive.

"Actually," Hiccup said while sitting near her "you caused this wound." he finished by pointing out at his right arm.

"Me?" Astrid asked shocked.

"When we were on Berk, and you were hit by that cursed arrow, I had to break the arrowhead and the tail." Hiccup began to explain

"Yes. I remember." she said still not fully making the connections.

"Well, I gave you a small branch to bit on it. And you broke it. When you broke it, I noticed that you were going to yell, so I quickly gave you my arm to bite," he said slowly, rubbing the injured area on his arm.

"Seriously?" Astrid asked not fully believing his story.

"Well, yes." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. She didn't believe his story, again.

"Hiccup, I am sorry, but you will have to come with a better excuse than that. I mean, really. I know you hate pain and injuries, and I am pretty sure that you wouldn't injure yourself by doing something that stupid." Astrid said trying to explain this in the best way so that he wouldn't feel insulted by her doubt.

"I wanted to give you something to distract you from the pain. And my arm has the closest thing to a stick that you could bite. And maybe thanks to this actions we are both alive." Hiccup said, trying _not_ to feel insulted by her disbelief.

"I kind of understand your point." she slowly said while getting closer to him. "But I doubt that you would do something so drastic."

"I would gladly do it again if you wouldn't had to go through all that pain." Hiccup placed a small kiss on her lips. She slowly smiled at his action.

"I don't want to believe that I did that to you." Astrid said slowly resting her head on his shoulder.

"And I don't want to believe you got hit by an arrow because of me. But we both know that is only my fault you are injured now." Hiccup said slowly hugging her. He liked when they were close. In the last month they really got to understand each other's thinking and logic and he was really happy that they got that close. He still didn't fully believe that Astrid was finally his _girlfriend._

"Please don't blame yourself. We didn't knew that there was a wedding or a holiday. And it was all Snotlout's fault. I am happy that you defeated him." Astrid said trying to comfort Hiccup.

"First. I should have noticed that no one was on the street and make the connection, I was an idiot_._ And second. Snotlout was defeating me, I only managed to win because of Ild. He saved my life. I am still a screw-up, I managed to get you hurt and almost killed." Hiccup said looking sad at the sky. Their trip to Berk only reminded him that he was still a problem. That he couldn't protect the ones he loved and that he would always need someone's help to do something.

"NO! You are not a screw-up!" Astrid yelled at him. "And stop saying that you are! You are maybe one of the greatest men born in the Barbaric Archipelago. You were the first one to understand that dragons aren't a threat. You managed to befriend four dragons. You managed to convince _me_ that dragons are friendly. For Thor's sake. You managed to make me open up to you. You are the first person that I really liked and maybe my only real friend I ever had. So please. PLEASE. Stop being so harsh on yourself." Her voice was harsh and sad. She hated to see him like this. He was not a screw-up. He saved her life. He had the guts to leave Berk and start a new life, even if he was the son of the chief. He was a very powerful person. He just needed to realize that.

"You really mean it?" he said looking at her.

"Of course I..." Astrid began to say, but she was quickly interrupted by Hiccup's kiss. It was a sweet, tender kiss. He got Astrid a little by surprise, but she quickly joined him. The kiss quickly turned heated as Hiccup pulled her to sit in his lap. She smiled into his lips and buried her fingers in his hair. Their noses knocked against each other as their limbs curled and tightened around each other like snakes.

Toothless and Stormfly were sitting near the trees looking at them.

'I don't understand human mating rituals.' Stormfly said looking confused at the young couple.

'Well...' Toothless began 'The male is trying to impress the female by different actions. Most of the time they try to impress the female by bringing trophies to prove his power. But I also saw males trying to try and manipulate the females with sweet words and stuff like poetry.'

'But how did Hiccup manage to impress Astrid? He doesn't have any trophies and I am pretty sure that she is not easily impressed by sweet words.' Stormfly said still confused.

'Well, Hiccup was the first one to befriend us. So he has a lot more power of will than the usual viking. And you also said that he managed to defeat the annoying kid back on Berk.' Toothless pointed out.

'They are just so easily distracted. I helped him train a few minutes before you two arrived. I just hope they would finally mate and get over with.' Stormfly said slightly annoyed at their humans attention spawn.

'I don't think they will ever get over it. Most humans pick their mate and live with it until they die. Officially at least. A lot of them also try to steal other humans mate and that almost always leads to problems.' Toothless said trying to explain the weird human mating ritual.

'I hope that they won't betray each other and cause any conflict.' Stormfly said before approaching them.

The young couple didn't even noticed the Nadder slowly approaching them, until she nudged them. Then they quickly opened their eyes and awkwardly separated.

"Uhm...Thanks for...Reassuring me that I am not a screw-up." Hiccup said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah. No problem." Astrid said with a sweet smile while slightly blushing.

"That reminds me. Can I borrow Stormfly for the rest of the day?" Hiccup asked slowly recovering from their moment.

"Why?" Astrid asked. She hoped that they wouldn't train like that again. She couldn't bear to see Hiccup hurt by Stormfly. She loved them both. She didn't wanted to be mad at any of them.

"I want to go to a nearby village and give them a few furs so I can use their forge. I want to make a new rod for Toothless's flying gear." Hiccup explained.

"Of course then. Just be careful." Astrid said while placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"I could actually get used to this." Hiccup said while slowly touching his cheek where Astrid just kissed him.

"Don't get so overconfident. I don't want you to become like Snotlout." she said looking at the boy slowly getting up.

"I could never become something like that asshole." Hiccup said slightly insulted by that comparison. "I will go to the cave to get a few hides. I will be right back." Hiccup said before starting to jog to the cave to gather the supplies for his trip. He took eight boar pelts and a flask that he put in his bag, he also grabbed one of the rods he brought from Berk, so that they could let him work in their forge with his own materials. He just needed a few tools from a forge and a constant burning furnace. He then slowly carried the pelts to Stormfly. She was on the beach with Astrid and Toothless.

"I hope you will take your swords with you." Astrid said looking at Hiccup trying to tie the hides with some leather stripes, so that the materials wouldn't be so difficult to transport.

"Don't you worry about me." Hiccup said, slightly happy about Astrid's concern.

"You are going on your own to an unknown village with eight boar pelts, hoping to let you work in their forge. How can I not be concerned?" Astrid quickly shot back.

"It's a small village. There are like twenty people in it. At first, I was surprised that they even _had_ a forge. So I am not too worried about it. I will leave Stormfly in the forest, so that if something happens, she could come and help me." Hiccup explained his plan.

"I just hope you will be alright." Astrid said stretching her arms, trying to suggest him to come and hug her. After a few seconds of confusion, he took the hint and hugged his girlfriend. He really liked the sound of that. Astrid Hofferson was his girlfriend. And it only took him three months after being marked for high treason. If he knew that was all it took he would have done it a long time ago.

Hiccup then mounted Stormfly after placing the pelts on her back. He was holding the pelts with his right hand while he was trying to steer Stormfly with his left one. When they took off, he almost dropped the pelts, but he quickly managed to recover and have a strong grip on ones of Stormfly's spikes. They were flying for about thirty minutes. The island he was going at wasn't even that far. He could have got there in ten minutes with Toothless, but his flying gear was almost destroyed. That was the reason he was going at this island.

They landed on the opposite side of the village. He wanted to walk to the village with Stormfly a little behind him, so that the villagers wouldn't notice the dragon, but the Nadder could intervene if something bad was going to happen. In almost ten minutes he reached the village, he made a sign to Stormfly to wait for him here. Then he slowly entered the settlement.

There was nobody outside. He slowly started to go to the building that looked like a forge while looking around for the villagers. He was in the middle of what looked like the main road.

"Is somebody here?" Hiccup yelled looking around. He remembered seeing vikings in this village the last time he was here. The place didn't looked like it had been attacked by dragons, so there was no apparent reason for the lack of people in the small settlement.

"I am Audun. I am the chief of this small village. What business have you here?" a tall and bearded man said while existing a small house and approaching him. He looked old. He was as big as Stoick, but he was a pale blond. He had some scars on his arms, but he didn't looked like he liked to fight. He looked calm and peaceful, but also prudent and protective.

"I want to trade a few boar furs for the possibility of using your forge. I have all the supplies I need, but I lack the tools that can only be found in a forge. I was a blacksmith apprentice, so I know what I have to do. It will take an hour at most and then I will leave." Hiccup said bringing the furs a little closer to the chief, but not close enough for him to consider him a threat.

"What would you like to do in our forge?" the chief asked, slowly approaching the furs to examine them.

"My business is mine and mine alone." Hiccup said, trying to look like he knew what he was doing. This was actually the first time he spoke alone with the chief of another tribe. He needed to be charismatic and trustworthy.

"I beg you pardon, but you are armed and we have no certainty that you won't try to steal from us or try to hurt us." Audun said trying to read the boy. "You look like a skilled fighter since you carry two swords. Not many persons can master this way of fighting. I don't know anyone else in the entire archipelago that fights with two blades."

"I'm...Not, such, a skilled fighter...I just got used of using two swords to fight and I prefer this style of combat over others." Hiccup said, hoping that he doesn't look like a threat or something. For Thor's sake, how could they see him as a threat? He was a teen that came alone in their village with only two blades.

"How do we know that you are not trying to lure us in a trap?" Audun said with an untrusting expression, as if he read Hiccup's mind. The teen just looked at him dumbfounded.

"I...Just...Uhmm...I have no idea how to convince you. I came here noticing that you have a forge and I am in need of one. So I tried to trade the few furs I managed to get on my journey for the possibility of using your forge. I know it sound kind of deceitful, but I promise you, I am an honest man." Hiccup said slowly rising both hands in a sign of mercy. The chief was slowly reading the boy. He was looking at him, weighing the decisions he was going to make.

"You can use our forge. But, I will personally watch over you and, you will have to surrender you weapons before entering the forge. You have my word that no one will try and damage you weapons. You can have them back after you finish your work." Audun said extending his right arm to Hiccup, as a sign of sealing their deal. Hiccup slowly extended his right arm, shaking hands with the chief. He then slowly started to untie his sheats and giving them to the chief.

"Shall we go to the forge then?" Hiccup asked him while slowly starting to walk to the building that looked like a forge. Audun picked up the furs and started to follow Hiccup to the forge. He was a honest man. But he was going to kill the boy if he tried anything stupid.

When they reached the forge, he stood in the door while Hiccup entered and started to look around to find what he need for making the rod for Toothless.

"You still hadn't told me what you want to make." Audun said, letting Hiccup now that he still wasn't fully trusting him.

"Let's just say I need to make something to help a friend." Hiccup said while getting the rod out of his bag and starting to ignite the furnace. He got his journal from his bag with all the measurements and indications he wrote when he made the first rod. After the forge was finally heated, he started to melt the rod and to mold it to the right dimensions. He started to hammer the hot steel, trying to follow the indications in his journal. In less than half a hour he finished the rod for Toothless's flying gear. He then put it in cold water to harden the steel. After he finished, he stood and admired his work. He would finally fly with Toothless again. He missed to fly with his Nightfury and he was sure that the dragon wasn't so happy about it either. He still had to remake his tail fin, but that was something he could do from home. He then took the flask from his bag and slowly drank some water from it.

"That is all I needed. Thank you." Hiccup said turning to face the chief.

"How did you get here?" Audun quickly answered him. This took Hiccup by surprise. He forgot to create a plausible excuse for his arrival here.

_Shit._

"I... I got here with my boat. On the other side of the island. I explored it and I found your village. I noticed you had a forge so I thought about a trade." Hiccup quickly said. Trying not to panic. He was now unarmed, facing a viking three times bigger than him, and with at least another ten warriors at his disposal. He needed to buy his story. He really hoped that he will.

"Then you won't have a problem if I will escort you to your boat. Those forests are full of dangerous animals." Audun slowly said, trying to read Hiccup's reaction.

"I...I think I will...go to my boat by myself. But thank you for your intentions." Hiccup stuttered trying to get out of the forge with his rod and run in the forest to Stormfly.

"But we wouldn't want a _honest _person to be attacked by some wild animals and we certainly wouldn't want your _friend_ to not get the things you made." He said stopping the boy. Hiccup slowly turned to face him. At first Audun looked so nice and friendly, now he looked intimidating. How did he changed like that? He did nothing wrong. He traded boar hides to work at their forge. What the heck did he wanted more from him?

"Can you please let me go?" Hiccup said starting to tremble at the sight of the chief. Audun slowly placed his right arm on Hiccup's shoulder. The boy was starting to turn pale. This is how he would die. Why was he so foolish to surrender his swords so easily? He could yell for Stormfly, but the viking seemed experienced enough in fighting with dragons, so a Nadder wouldn't be a problem.

"Why are you afraid?" the chief asked. He was trying to find out the real reason why Hiccup came here. He was torturing the boy psychologically. Audun didn't really enjoy looking at him panic like this, but he needed to protect his people.

"I...I am not...I ju...just wanted to make a fair trade and then leave. Please." Hiccup stuttered. He still tried to calm himself, but he wasn't succeeding. _Think about nice stuff! Stuff that doesn't want to kill you! Think Hiccup! Think!_ He was yelling at himself. He didn't want to look weak now. Maybe if he somehow manages to hold his ground the chief would leave him. Maybe.

"WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?" Audun yelled at him. This made Hiccup flinch. _Shit. Just, shit._ Where was Astrid when he needed her? She would have took care of this. She wasn't as easily intimidated like he was. She was stronger than he was. If she was here, this conversation would have never happened. She would've protected him.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Hiccup yelled back at him. He somehow managed to find the strength he lacked a few minutes before. "When we made the deal you agreed that it was okay if I didn't state my business with the tool I made. And now you are trying to extract information from me. That was not our deal." Hiccup finished. Where did he found the guts to say that to a man that could break him in two with only one hand? Audun face started to get calm again.

"You are right. I was afraid for my village, I am sure you understand. Now go, go back to your people." Audun slowly said while giving Hiccup back his swords.

"I...I don't have any peopls." Hiccup said accepting his weapons and slowly attaching the sheats to his belt.

"You are the leader of something. No one manages to find that strength if they are not born to lead." Audun said before patting Hiccup on his back. "Now go back to your boat and don't hesitate to come and trade with us again. We are a small village, but we are friendly to honest persons." Hiccup slowly smiled at Audun's declaration. Before he could say something, a villager yelled. "DRAGON ATTACK!" Hiccup quickly turned around and noticed two Gronckles.

_Oh no. _

"Men, grab your weapons." Audun yelled trying to organize his warriors to defend against the two dragons.

"I can help." Hiccup quickly said, running and trying to distract a Gronckle. The dragon started to charge at Hiccup, when the boy slowly drew his swords and dropped them on the ground, the Gronckle slowed down until it was a few feet away from the boy. He noticed that this dragon was slightly red, while the other one was a little yellower.

"It's okay. I am not going to hurt you." Hiccup said slowly approaching the confused dragon. No one ever tried to _not_ kill them. Why was this boy different?

'He is not going to hurt you. Trust him.' Stomfly quickly flew from the forest in the village when she noticed the Gronckles charging. The other Gronckle slowly stopped and approached Hiccup.

"Don't attack them!" Hiccup yelled at Audun and his warriors. The chief slowly made a sign and his vikings started to back away and get in a more relaxed stance. "Stormfly, can you help me talk to them?" Hiccup said slightly turning to face Astrid's dragon. The Nadder quickly nodded and approached the teen and the two Gronckles.

'He is a friend with dragons. I know him. He healed my wing and he lives with another human and with a Nightfury on his island.' Stomfly said trying to calm the Gronckles.

'How do we know it's not just a trick?' the first Gronckle said, the one that was slightly redder.

'Yes, how do we know that?' the second Grocnkle finished, the one that was slightly yellower.

Hiccup slowly got between the two Gronckles and placed his hands on their snouts.

'What is he doing?' the first Gronckle asked.

'No other human tried to be friendly with us before.' the second Gronckle finished.

"I can feel your distrust. But I will not hurt you. And no one will hurt you from this village. Right?" Hiccup said slowly turning his head to look at Audun.

"Yes. We won't hurt you as long as you won't hurt us," the chief said slowly lowering his axe. The rest of the vikings followed their chief and within a few seconds, none of the vikings were armed anymore.

'Maybe we should kill him to be sure this is not a cunning trap.' the second Gronckle said.

"I promise you this is not a trap." Hiccup said turning his head to face the yellower Gronckle.

Everyone one was staring at him. No one from the village had any idea what was he doing. He was talking to the dragons. He managed to calm two Gronckles that wanted to raid them in just a minute. Even the dragons looked surprised at him when he assured the Gronckles that this was not a trap.

'Can you understand us?' Stormfly said slowly approaching Hiccup and the two dragons. Hiccup turned to look at Stormfly, like he knew that she said something, but not really managing to understand her. 'Can. You. Understand. Us?' Stormfly asked again, a little more slowly.

"I...I think so." Hiccup answered releasing a small laugh.

'Can he understand us?' the first Gronckle answered.

'Yes, he slightly can.' Stormfly answered with a proud voice.

'We can't kill him then. He would know that we want to kill him and he will kill us.' the second Gronckle said.

'Let's try not to kill him for now. He seems like a nice person.' the first Gronckle said

"I won't try to kill you." Hiccup said trying to hold his excitement about him understanding dragons. This was a glorious day. He didn't die. He made the rod for Toothless's flying gear. He made an alliance with a small village. And now he could finally talk with dragons. He couldn't wait to get home.

'What did he say?' the first Gronckle asked looking at Stormfly.

'He is not going to kill you. He wants to be friends with you. He is not like the other humans, he befriended a Nightfury before me and two other Terrible Terrors.' Stormfly answered.

'When you say a Nighfury, you mean _Waelise_?' the second Gronckle asked.

'He hates to be called like that, but yes. He befriended_ Waelise.'_ Stormfly said a little sad that she had to call Toothless by that name.

"Who is_ Waelise_?" Hiccup asked slowly turning to face Stormfly. He was still holding his hands on the two Gronckles snouts.

'Hiccup, we will talk when we get home.' Stormfly slowly said, making sure that Hiccup understood her. He quietly nodded and turned his attention back at the Gronckles.

"What do you say Stormfly, should we bring them home?" Hiccup asked the Nadder with a small smile. He managed to befriend another two dragons.

'Where does he want to take us?' the first Gronckle asked.

'Yes, what does he plan to do?' the second Gronckle finished.

'He wants you two to join us on his island. There is plenty of food and there are three other dragons there. We could even try to hunt animals from other islands with you guys. We could really use your help.' Stormfly said trying to convince them. If they managed to make the two Gronckles join them, they could actually try and raid a small village or a small ship. They could finally start to make a name for themselves.

'Sure, we will join you.' the first Gronckle said.

'Are you sure?' the second one asked.

'This boy could change the entire archipelago. And I will be damned if I won't try to help him.' the first one said playfully nudging Hiccup's hand.

'Then I will also join you.' the second one said.

Hiccup released a small laugh. He managed to bring two other dragons to help his cause. Now they were slowly becoming a force. He slowly removed his hands from the two dragon's snouts and approached Audun.

"So, can we form an alliance?" Hiccup asked extending his hand.

"You surely are something." Audun said while heartily shacking his hand. "But I must ask, what is your name?"

"Fáfnir." Hiccup said. He was going to use his new name. He was 'Hiccup' only to his closest friends. Well, friend. From now on, he would be Fáfnir in any other contest. People will learn to respect this name. His enemies will learn to fear his name. He was going to tell Audun about his real name, but later, after he was sure he won't betray him.

He then slowly grabbed his swords from the ground and mounted Stormfly. They left the island and starting to head home. In more than half a hour they reached his island. The Gronckles were slightly slowing them down. They had a very slow and heavy way of flying. He knew that they could be powerful cannons and battering rams, but they were just _so_ slow.

He was pretty sure that he didn't take more than three hours for his little trip. When they reached the cave, he quickly dismounted and ran inside hoping to find Astrid.

She was sitting near the fire, leaning on Toothless's side, skinning a boar. When she noticed him she started to smile. Hiccup quickly approached her and kissed her heartily. Before things could get out of hand again, he quickly backed a little and said.

"I want you to meet somebody."

"Who?" Astrid asked a little confused, but also excited by his return.

"Come let's go to meet them." Hiccup said before picking her up in his arms and quickly getting her outside. There she noticed to Gronckles.

"They are not going to hurt us right?" Astrid asked a little worried at their new friends.

"I hope not." Hiccup said before placing a small kiss on her cheek.

"What are their names?" Astrid asked. The two Gronckles also noticed the girl and slowly approached her.

"I didn't name them yet." He let her down near a tree. Astrid noticed that the redder dragon was a little smaller than the other one, but he also looked a little more intelligent. She slowly placed her hand on his snout. The dragon was a little surprised that the girl didn't seemed aggressive at all. She looked content with them being here. She was going to protect them. A human they just met was going to defend them against other of her own kind. Those two humans could change the entire archipelago.

"Skuller. You like that name?" Astrid asked the redder dragon. He was shocked to be given a name. He playfully nudged her hand. Astrid smiled at his gestured and started to scratch him on his head.

"Then you will be Nubs." Hiccup said while approaching the other Gronckle. He then started to pet him.

Toothless slowly got outside with Ild and Blad to meet the new family members. In just a few hours, the two Gronckles turned from raiding a village, to becoming family members with two humans and four other dragons. When they noticed the Nightfury they slowly backed away and looked at him.

'So it's true. _Waelise _is really here.' Nubs said starring at Toothless. The Nighfury looked insulted at the two of them. He hated to be called like that. He hated that he was one of the most powerful dragons and that he was humiliated and exiled by his kind. He hated that he had to join an incompetent Dragon Queen and that no one liked him there.

'I will kill both of you if you ever call me by that name again.' Toothless calmly said looking at them. He hadn't been called by that name in a very long time. He almost forgot his painful past. He really hoped that the other dragons would just forget about him.

'I am sorry for my friend. He is not very clever.' Skuller said carefully approaching Toothless, trying not to leave a bad first impression.

'Now, let me make myself clear. You will have to follow a few rules if you want to live here.' Toothless said looking at them. He quickly glared at Skuller and the Gronckle stopped in his tracks.

'Yes. Of course. We are listening.' Skuller quickly said.

'Hiccup is the leader and you will follow his orders. Astrid is the second in charge and you will follow her orders. And I am third in charge, and guess what?' Toothless said trying to look calm, but also intimidating. He usually didn't care about this kind of stuff. Stormfly always commanded Ild and Blad, because he left her. He made her his 'lieutenant', so that he wouldn't have to deal with this kind of stuff.

'We will follow your orders.' Nubs completed his sentence.

'Exactly. But most of the time I let Stormfly deal with this kind of stuff, since I trust her. So you will also have to listen to her.' Toothless said slowly looking at Stormfly. The Nadder was trying not to laugh at Toothless's attitude. He was trying to look tough in front of the 'new recruits'. It was true that she commanded Ild and Blad, but only because they liked her. But this whole rank stuff will pay off in the future, when they would have tens of dragons, or even more.

'I hope that everything is clear.' Stormfly joined Toothless, trying to intimidate the new dragons.

'Yes. Of course. Say that everything is clear Nubs.' Skuller quickly responded.

'Everything is clear,' the other Gronckle quickly said.

'And the most important thing. I don't know and I don't care what are your intentions here, but if any of you will hurt or injure Hiccup or Astrid. I will become your worst _nightmare_. Hope that I make myself clear.' Toothless said finally approaching the two Gronckles and glaring at them.

"What are they doing?" Astrid asked.

"Toothless is just making sure that they will follow the rules." Hiccup said slightly amused by Toothless's actions.

"And what rules would those be?" she asked a little confused.

"Well, the first one would be that I am first in command and you are second in command after me." Hiccup started to say.

"Like I would ever listen to you." Astrid said laughing, playfully hitting Hiccup in the shoulder.

"Don't hurt me or Toothless will become your _worst nightmare_." Hiccup said laughing at Toothless's little speech.

'What the heck is his problem? I am just trying to make some order here.' Toothless said noticing Hiccup making fun of him.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	11. Fáfnir

******Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. ************Also thank you for the reviews and for making this story reach 10.000 views. You guys are amazing!  
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"WHAT? HICCUP CAME BACK TO BERK?" Stoick yelled after he heard Snotlout's story.

"Yes. And he had Astrid with him." Snotlout said trying to create more tension in the council.

"I told you we should have executed her." Spitelout said after his son's declaration.

"Let's not get over our heads." Gobber said. "I am sure there is a perfectly logical explanation to all this."

"Yes, there is, she betrayed the viking ways and joined that runt." Spitelout yelled, trying to prove his point.

The doors of the Great Hall were violently opened by Cuyler, Astrid's father. He was also part of the council. He was sleeping when he was announced that his daughter was spotted in the village. He was a tall viking, not as muscular as the others, but he was famous for his talent with ranged weapons. No one could best him in a archery competition. His other very distinctive trait, was the lack of beard, he hated to have his face covered by all that hair. If the weather was bad and windy, all that hair could distract him from scoring a perfect shot. The other members of the council and Snotlout all stood in silence while Cuyler approached the young viking.

"Tell me what happened!" He said with a very serious and cold voice. He never got over the fact that he had to banish his daughter. He loved her. He still loved her. He hated to have to do that, but if he didn't, she would be dead now. She would have been executed with that cursed Blood Eagle. Why in Thor's name did she had to help that useless runt? He was nervously pacing near the Jorgenson boy.

"I quickly ran into the forest ahead of the search party trying to stop them. I noticed them in the distance and I shot an arrow so that I could slow them and it hit Astrid in the leg." Snotlout began to say the story again then Cuyler stopped and glared at the boy.

"YOU DID WHAT?" he yelled approaching Snotlout. "You shot my girl with an arrow?" Cuyler almost hit him when Spitelout stood up.

"She is a traitor. She knew that she wasn't supposed to return to Berk until she killed him. She returned to Berk with him and stole weapons from our forge." Spitelout explained to his friend Cuyler. This was a bad time for him to go berserk. The council needed him calm.

"Continue." Cuyler said trying to calm himself.

"I noticed Hiccup breaking the arrow and causing her pain. What kind of person would break an arrow while it pierced someone's leg." Snotlout said the last sentence under his breath, trying to make the council angrier at Hiccup.

"A person that know that this is the best way to slow the bleeding and the movement of the wound. A person that was going to remove that arrow later." Gobber declared. He taught Hiccup how to remove an arrow after one of his weapons backfired. A weapon he called _crossbow_. He managed to shoot himself with a small arrow in the shoulder and Gobber had to break the arrow's tail to reduce the movement of the object in his shoulder, then he quickly equipped his grapples in his removable hand and removed the rest of the arrow from Hiccup's shoulder. He was lucky that it didn't hit any important spots. "I taught him how to remove an arrow. The girl is most likely safe." Gobber said looking and Cuyler.

"So as I was saying. After he broke the arrow he took her in his arms and entered a cove in the forest. I followed them inside and I saw a Monstrous Nightmare and two Deadly Nadders. He placed Astrid on a Nadder and he wanted to mount the other one. But I quickly drew my bow and shoot an arrow at him, and I managed to hit his shoulder. He yelled like a girl and told the Monstrous Nightmare to attack me. That is how I got this burn." Snotlout proudly said pointing at his burned face. He finally had a battle scar that he could show off with.

"So let me get this straight. That useless runt managed to _carry_ Astrid in his arms and place her on a dragon, and then you shot an arrow at him and he yelled like a girl?" Cuyler said while looking at Snotlout with a very distrustful face.

"Well, yea." Snotlout confirmed again.

"How did you get that cut on your neck?" Cuyler asked approaching the boy.

"One of the Nadders shot spikes at me, I managed to dodge the most, but one slightly scratched my neck.

"You know that the Nadders spikes are poisonous. If you were truly hit by a spike then you should be dead by now." Gobber said looking surprised at the boy.

"Tell us what really happened!" Stoick said raising from his seat at the end of the main table.

"Fine." Snotlout said rolling his eyes. Nothing was wrong with his story. He only changed a few details to make himself look more viking like. There was nothing wrong with that. "He placed Astrid on an Nadder and then we fought..."

"And Hiccup defeated you?" Gobber interrupted the boy with a shocked expression.

"Because he cheated." Snotlout quickly yelled to cover his humility.

"How could a runt beat you, even if he cheated?" Spitelout now said raising from his chair.

"He made a Terrible Terror attack me." Snotlout said while crossing his arms over his chest, trying to prove his point. Trying to convince them that he didn't stand a chance.

"Let me get this straight. Hiccup defeated you, the boy that couldn't even lift a sword, defeated you with a small Terror?" Gobber said trying not to laugh.

"It was bigger than most. And he also used two swords." Snotlout defended Himself.

Stoick started to laugh. He found that totally unbelievable. "Okay now son, you made your joke. Now tell us what really happened." The chief said sitting down and drinking some mead from his mug.

"This is the truth. We were fighting and I was defeating him, when a Terrible Terror attacked me. When I was busy fighting the Terror he disarmed me and tried to kill me." Snotlout said with a humiliated voice.

"You don't expect me to believe that my son, who never fought anyone in his life, managed to learn how to dual wield in just three months. For Thor's sake, he couldn't even use _a _sword. So how could he learn to use _two _swords in just three months." Stoick said looking with disbelief at his nephew.

"Astrid trained him." Cuyler said, he was silent before, but now he finally spoke out. "She met him and she couldn't kill him. So they became friends and she trained him."

"And how do you know that?" Spitelout asked with a suspicious look.

"Because I know my daughter," he said glaring at the Jorgenson's family head. "She never had the guts to hurt him. She liked him. She liked your runt Stoick, and that made her weak. I hoped that she got over him when she was exiled because of his actions. But I was wrong." Cuyler then started to go to the table and get himself a mug of mead.

"Hiccup is ambidextrous, so he could easily learn how to use two swords." Gobber pointed out.

"He also said something else before he left." Snotlout slowly began to say. "He told me to say to you that he is Fáfnir."

As Snotlout finished his sentence, Stoick stood up angrily and hit the wooden table with his fist, breaking it in two. He then turned and looked at Snotlout. "What did you say?" he asked his nephew.

"He is Fáfnir." the Jorgenson boy said, not fully understanding why was the chief so angry.

"Are you sure about this?" his father asked him.

"Yes, I am sure." Snotlout confirmed. "But what's the big deal? Hiccup created a fake name to scare us." The boy continued.

"His dragon ate a man alive at his command. And maimed the other man that tried to help his friend." Cuyler said. "Astrid, what have you got yourself into?" her father said under his breath.

"Put three gold pieces bounty on them dead. Five gold pieces alive." Stoick said before leaving the table to get more mead for himself.

"NO! Don't do that Stoick! Please!" Cuyler started to beg the chief after he heard his intentions.

"They must be killed or brought back to be taught a lesson." Spitelout said.

"You can't be serious Stoick. This is your son." Gobber implored his friend.

Stoick slowly turned around to face him. "I have no son." Those were the last words the chief said before leaving the rest of the council in the Great Hall.

The whole village was angry at the two traitors. They had to stop a wedding, a sacred event, to make a decision about the two imbeciles that stole from Berk. Snotlout finally got out of the Great Hall, after the counsel finished questioning him. He noticed Fishlegs and the twins waiting for him outside.

"It is true what they said? Was Astrid really here?" Fishlegs quickly asked.

"Yes, she was here. And I, the Great Viking Snotlout, managed to shoot her with an arrow. So I managed to kill a traitor." the teen said proudly.

"They said she survived." Tuffnut said looking at Snotlout with disbelief.

"So if you really hit her with an arrow, you are a dead man." Ruffnut said.

"And then she will resurrect you and kill you again." Tuffnut finished. The twins were dully observing him. They didn't believe that he shot Astrid. Who was stupid enough to shoot an arrow at Astrid? You would only do that if you wanted a slow and painfully death.

"And is it true that you fought Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked after the twins finished. He was trying to hold his concern hidden. He knew that they didn't treated Hiccup that well in the past, so it was fairly possible for him to want to have his revenge on Berk. He had dragons now. He didn't liked the idea of being killed by a boy that commanded dragons.

"Yes. I fought him. And..." Snotlout began to say.

"He humiliated you." Tuffnut quickly interrupted the teen. Then the twins started laughing at Snotlout and slowly turned to leave.

"I almost got him!" Snotlout yelled looking at the teens.

"So Hiccup really defeated you?" Fishlegs asked looking surprised at the other boy.

"Just...He had dragons! Okay? I had no chance against him. He cheated." Snotlout said trying to defend his remaining honor before ignoring Fishlegs and going home.

...

"You are not going to do that!" Helga yelled at her husband.

"They want to kill her. Stoick put a fucking bounty on her head! Three gold pieces for her dead, five for her alive. I must go and find her." Cuyler said.

"You can't help her now! She is probably Hiccup's prisoner. He would kill her if you approach him or his dragons." his wife tried to reason with him.

"I would gut him and all his damned reptiles! He will not hurt my little girl! I will go and find her, and make sure she will never return to this cursed place. I must make sure that no viking would find her and hurt her." Cuyler said while getting his famous bow, that he made from the remains of a Boneknapper. His bow was strong and resilient, he had won the right to use that weapon and he was the best marksman in the entire Barbaric Archipelago.

"Cuyler, just, be careful." Helga said hugging his husband, maybe for the last time.

"I have to protect my little Valkyrie." He said returning the hug. Then he quickly left her. He went to the docks and got a small boat. It was slightly bigger than the boat Astrid was forced to leave on. Before he could sail in the distance, he noticed Gobber approaching.

"Are you going to find them?" the blacksmith said looking at him.

"I am going to find my daughter and make sure that no one will hurt her." He said throwing some supplies in his boat.

"When you find Hiccup, can you please give him this sword. It was a project he worked on before he left." Gobber said approaching Cuyler and giving him a sword that was covered in a wolf pelt.

"Why would I give him a weapon? They already stole from us." Cuyler said looking annoyed at his friend._ Why was he trying to help Hiccup?_

"As you said, you are going to help your daughter and I want to help my son. Well, not my real son, but he was like a son to me. And I am pretty sure that they are together wherever they are." Gobber said giving the weapon to Cuyler.

"If he hurt her. I will kill him." Cuyler said looking at Gobber.

"Just make sure that it's going to be a fair fight." Gobber said laughing a little at his joke. Then he stood at the docks and watched as Cuyler slowly disappeared into the night.

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**Another small chapter, but it will be important for the storyline. And for those of you who were wondering why I named Astrid's father 'Cuyler' it's a secret :) Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	12. Reunion

******Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. ************Also thank you for the reviews and** **the support**.

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"You used to be better than this." Hiccup said parrying and dodging Astrid's attacks.

"It's. Not. My. Fault." Astrid said, trying to hit Hiccup.

After her injury she couldn't train for a month. A whole month. That slightly weakened her muscles and now Hiccup was better than her. _Hiccup_, the screw-up of Berk, was now a better fighter than _Astrid. _He didn't stop his training while Astrid was healing. She would sit and watch him train for hours, but she never thought that her suggestion and her inactivity would make him better than her. After her foot finally healed, she didn't start to train with him from the first day, she took a week to recover herself and to get used to walking and running again. After almost an hour of training with him, she abandoned Hiccup and ran away to be alone. She couldn't understand how he got better than her. And _so_ much better. She couldn't land a hit in their entire practice and he defeated her more than ten times in those sixty minutes. When Hiccup finally found her, she was quietly sobbing on a cliff, looking at the sea. Then he promised her that he would do anything in his power to help her, that was the moment when he promised to give his best to help her be the a better fighter than him, so she could defeat him, again. And since then, they have been training with real weapons, he wanted to help Astrid be the axe wielder that she was before and he was confident enough to block and dodge her attacks, so it was a win-win situation.

"Yes, I know, it's Snotlout's fault for giving you a forced break." He said while trying to counter one of her attacks, but she quickly noticed his intentions and backed away.

"But why did you have to train without me...?" Astrid said with an exasperated and frustrated voice. She got into a more relaxed position, saying that she didn't want to train anymore.

"You suggested that because you wanted me to be a challenge to you." Hiccup said, relaxing his grip on his swords.

"I said a challenge. Not utterly impossible." She said, making an annoyed sigh.

"Astrid...I...Wait, you really think you can't defeat me?" Hiccup said, slowly realizing that he had become a very skilled fighter. But at his question, Astrid just got more angry and placed a strong grip with both of her hands on her axe and with a skilled move, she threw the axe at Hiccup, but the boy was now experienced at dodging flying stuff that came at him and gracefully dodged her axe.

"Argh!" Astrid made a noise before starting to walk aggressively away from Hiccup.

"Astrid." Hiccup said releasing his weapons and following her.

"NO. Leave me alone..." Astrid said pushing Hiccup away when he reached her and tried to hug her.

"You know you won't be able to get rid of me, don't you?" He asked facing Astrid.

"I...Just...Why did you have to get so good..." She said punching his chest. Hiccup got used with her small break downs after their training. She did this almost every day. He figured that she still thought of him as a hiccup and that she couldn't stand the fact that a _hiccup _was better than her in combat, so that would lead to all this stress and frustration. The problem is, that he wasn't a _hiccup _anymore, he was taller than her, he had grown some muscles with all his training and he just wasn't the small, weak boy he was. If before he couldn't defeat Snotlout, now he would have no problem in winning against him. Astrid saw him evolve a lot with all his individual training, but she didn't know that she would devolve in that time. That was her only problem. She was proud of Hiccup's evolution, but she was stressed about her involution.

"I had a good teacher." Hiccup said, slowly grabbing her and bringing her closer to him.

"You trained mostly alone..." She said with a sad voice, but accepting his hug.

"You were there and supported me. Don't you think I forgot how you yelled at me when I did something wrong." Hiccup said trying to light the mood a little. Astrid released a small laugh at his joke, but she was still disappointed by her incapacity of beating his ass in training.

"But you could get over your small mistakes. When you defeat me in a duel I just get so mad that I can't see straight anymore."

"What did I promise you?" Hiccup asked looking at her.

"That Toothless won't try to kill me if I don't hurt you?" Astrid jokingly asked. She was her old self again. Her small break downs didn't last long, but were painful to watch for Hiccup, he didn't like to see her like this. He didn't like to see her sad and annoyed, frustrated and helpless. Hiccup didn't want for her to feel helpless, he was there for her.

"No." The boy said, hugging her again.

"That after my leg healed you would teach me how to ride Stormfly?"

"Nope. Not that one."

"Oh. You mean that you'll give your all to help me become the best warrior around, again."

"Yup. That was the one I was thinking of." Hiccup said quickly kissing her. "Now let's go back to training."

Astrid looked cheered up at Hiccup as he went back to their 'arena' to train. She couldn't believe how much he cared for her. He was going to probably waste another month or more before she could be back to her old self. In that time he could befriend different dragons and make small diplomatic missions to other small villages to convince them to accept his protectorate, or he could be working in the forge with the Gronckles to make more armors and weapons to sell them, or he could even work on one of his ridiculous inventions or even his leather armor. She finally followed him and noticed him standing in near a tree with his swords near him.

"Are you ready?" He asked noticing her.

"You know how much time you wasted training me?" She asked, getting her axe from the ground.

"You know how much time I wasted not being near you?" He said equipping his weapons. Astrid couldn't help but to feel a little happy about this, but their quest could be going a lot faster if she wasn't a dead weight right now.

"Seriously now, Hiccup. You could have befriended different dragons or help the village to forge more stuff. Or to even try to get another village in your protectorate." She asked a little confused by his judgment.

"We only train for a few hours together, then you know that I go flying with Toothless to make a map of the surrounding area. And sometimes I do stuff. Don't worry, I haven't forgot the plan. But you are a priority now." He said approaching her.

"Aww. You are saying this just so that I'll feel bad after I kick your ass." Astrid said before charging at him.

...

After the 'arrow incident' Hiccup was always by Astrid's side, trying to make sure she was comfortable and help her with everything he could. She liked to have him always around, always by her side, this made the healing process a lot more faster and easier to bear. But he was a little _too_ worried about her, after she finally healed, he didn't want to train her how to fly with Stormfly. He was too worried that she would injure herself or worse. So she usually sneaked away at night with her Nadder and went out flying. Even the other dragons kept the secret away from Hiccup, even they noticed that he was being overdramatic about this. She was big enough to take care of herself, she was still slightly injured, but Hiccup was exaggerating. When he finally accepted to teach her, Hiccup was quickly surprised by her fast learning. Little did he know that her _talent_ at flying was just a long series of trial and error. After a few official days of training, she had the splendid idea to challenge him to an official race to Jàrnstarfa, Audun's village. He got there fifteen minutes before her.

They usually flew to Jàrnstarfa at the end of each week, to help the small village with trade and the forge. Hiccup and the local blacksmith managed to create about twenty swords and ten axes in a week and they could sell those weapons for three gold nuggets. He was even suggesting to train another blacksmith so that they could forge a lot more weapons in a shorter time, they had the materials, but they didn't really have the manpower. The weapons Hiccup made were highly demanded by the nobles of different villages. Of course that they kept Hiccup a secret, only Audun knowing his true identity. He was marked as a traitor in the entire archipelago, so if someone would see him, they wouldn't hesitate to capture or to kill him for the bounty. So Astrid would usually deal with the traders, which was a good thing since she was a little more diplomatic than Hiccup and since she was young and beautiful, she could try to charm different merchants for a better bargain. And, slowly but surely, the village was growing thanks to their help.

This week they went a little earlier, since Astrid needed a break from training. They took Ild and Blad on every trip they went on. The two Terrible Terrors had proven very useful in a lot of situations. They could sent messages to each other, they could use the small dragons to scout the area and now that they understood them, the information they brought back was a lot more useful, they could even use the two dragons in combat, their grip was annoying on every enemy and their small fireball had proven useful on a number of situations.

After another one of their races, they finally reached the village. They were loved there. Everyone knew them and respected them. The two teens managed to bring the small village on the map with the new type of iron that had been 'discovered' on the island and with the skilled blacksmiths that lived in the village. Those vikings quickly accepted dragons after they saw what Hiccup could do with them. They had three Deadly Nadder and four Gronckles protecting them. The dragons lived discreetly in the forest. They would hunt or fish and sometimes the villagers would bring them food. They managed to take care of themselves and to make the vikings feel safe in their homes. The village only had four guards and the rest of the vikings worked at transporting stuff from the forge to the docks and to the warehouse. So far a lot of different vikings wanted to move and live in the village, but they were all rejected so far, Audun and Hiccup weren't sure how they would react to dragons if they would knew the truth. They wanted to keep it safe for now. Maybe after they had enough dragons to protect the island, they would make public their protectorate of the dragons and more villages would join, but so far they were still weak. They were stronger than most small parties in the Barbaric Archipelago, but they couldn't face the army of a strong village or the army of an alliance.

"I will go and talk to Audun about the new trader." Astrid said before quickly kissing Hiccup and letting him on his own.

Their dragons were used to go to the forest after they arrived in the village. They understood that any visiting vikings or traders could prove to be a threat to the village if they were seen in the small settlement. Before even noticing, Hiccup was left on his own in the village market. He slowly started to walk to the forge to get working. He just left the market, when he was suddenly jerked around and felt a sudden and powerful pain in his chest. In a few seconds, he was lying on the ground with a knife at his throat. A foot on his chest to keep him down.

"Where is she?" A bearded man asked him. He couldn't comprehend what just happened. Who was this guy? What was he doing here? And most important, why in Hel's name was he threatening Hiccup with a knife?

"Who the heck are you?" Hiccup asked, slowly recovering from the initial shock.

"I am the one who fucking asks the question! So where is..." The man stopped when he felt a cold blade on his own throat.

"Get off him now, or I will kill you where you stand." Astrid said, slowly pressing her dagger on the man's neck. He then slowly turned around.

"Astrid?" The man asked with a small sparkle in his eyes.

"Dad?" The girl said slowly lowering her weapon. Then they quickly jumped and hugged each other. It had been five months since they last saw each other. Five frickin months.

"What are you doing here dad?" Astrid asked with tears slowly dropping from her eyes. She missed her parents. Even if they were harsh on her on times, they made her the strong girl she was today. They made her a warrior.

"I am here to take care of you. After your small adventure on Berk, you got a bounty on your head." Cuyler slowly said. "I am going to protect you from those vikings and from this runt." He said slowly turning to face Hiccup.

"But I am fine here. I made friends here, and Hiccup is protecting me." She said trying not to feel insulted by her father for calling her boyfriend a 'runt'.

"How can this disgusting spawn of Loki protect you?" He said releasing Astrid and turning to face Hiccup now. He wanted to hurt the boy for making him banish his daughter and after that, putting a bounty on her head, but most of all, he wanted to hurt him for bringing her back on Berk to be shot by Snotlout.

"He saved my life. Three times." Astrid said making her father look at him.

"This pathetic, craven worm saved you life?" Her father asked Astrid looking surprised at her.

"I'm right here for Thor's sake." Hiccup said getting annoyed by her father.

"Just. Shut up." He said looking at Hiccup. Then, he quickly turned to look at his daughter, "Astrid, we have to leave." Cuyler grabbed her arm.

"I am not going anywhere." Astrid quickly shot back.

"You would rather stay with the runt that got you shot by an arrow than you father?" Cuyler asked looking surprised at her. He expected her to want to run from the boy after what he had done.

"I...Don't...Stop calling him a runt!" Astrid said trying to understand what is happening. Hiccup slowly approached her. He knew those rare moments when she was panicking and that she didn't react good when she panicked. When Astrid noticed him closing by, trying to support her, she quickly jumped and hugged him. Her father looked at them with a disappointed look.

"I see..." Cuyler said. "For how long?"

"Two months." Astrid quickly responded holding Hiccup by her side. She didn't want to leave Hiccup for her father, but leaving her father on his own, just, seemed wrong. After everything that happened. He left Berk to try and protect her. He abandoned his home to support his daughter. And now, he wanted her to choose between them. She could never choose between Hiccup and her father. They both helped her a lot. Her father made her the warrior she is today, taught her the art of combat and the strengths of each weapon and armor. But Hiccup helped her understand dragons, he helped her to change her mentality in better, he gave her the possibility to change the world. He gave her the possibility to finally achieve peace with the dragons.

"I am not going to abandon you again." Her father said, looking at the two teens. "I am certainly not going to leave you with this runt." Hiccup was just angrily glaring at the man. "You were a screw-up and you will always be a weakling." Cuyler said, noticing Hiccup's anger. When he said that, Hiccup's anger reached its limits. He wasn't going to let Astrid go with the person that banished her from Berk, not after all this time he spent with her. So blinded by his anger, he quickly placed a powerful punch on Cuyler face. The man was took by surprise by Hiccup's reaction, how could the 'runt' expect to defeat him.

"Hiccup don't! Please!" Astrid quickly yelled noticing Hiccup's action. Her father was surprised by this. She was begging the runt not to hurt him. Why? He could defeat Hiccup with one hand behind his back. He was a weakling and he always would be a weakling. The teen tried to hit him again, but now, Cuyler caught his fist and hit his ribs with his free hand. He then grabbed Hiccup and threw him to the ground near him. He quickly got his dagger and put it on the boy's neck.

"Any last words, _rat_?" Cuyler asked, mocking Hiccup.

"You have exactly five seconds to get off me." Hiccup said glaring at the man. Cuyler was shocked to see that the boy was dead serious. There wasn't any glimpse of fear in his eyes.

"Hiccup. Please don't do this." Astrid said watching the scene. She was scared that one of them was going to die now. She loved them both. She didn't want any of them to be hurt, but they are just too stubborn for their own good.

"Why in Hel's name are you telling him to sto..." Cuyler began to say as he slowly turned around to look at her daughter. Behind him there were four Deadly Nadders, with their spikes prepared to be shot at him and two Gronckles were ready to ram at him.

"Three." Hiccup said, still trying to be intimidating, but in truth, he was bluffing, he didn't know if the man was going to bite the bait, but there was no other choise, he could die now. He just had to get angry before and charge madly at a veteran viking. What was he thinking? Oh. He was trying to protect his honor and Astrid, that is what he was doing. But he never had any honor before, so why was he trying so hard to keep the respect he had now? Because he finally had the guts to follow his instinct. The fact that he escaped Berk and managed to befriend more than eight dragons gave him the courage he lacked before. And the fact that he managed to make Astrid his girlfriend surely helped a lot.

When Cuyler heard Hiccup he slowly let him go. He wasn't going to die now, not after he finally managed to found his daughter.

"Have you never heard of Fáfnir?" Astrid yelled at her father. She didn't dare to approach any of them since she didn't want to choose between them.

"I did. And I knew it was Hiccup. But how...?" He said looking at the dragons that were prepared to kill him.

"This went better than I expected." Hiccup said slowly getting up, holding one hand over his over his now injured chest.

"You didn't plan any of this?!" The man asked shocked turning around to face Hiccup.

"I was hoping that Toothless wouldn't come. You should be happy that he didn't." Hiccup said while gently leaning on a Nadder.

"Toothless?!" Cuyler asked with a mocking tone. "What was he going to do, look angrily at me?" Hiccup laughed a little at his comment.

"You said you have heard of Fáfnir. Now I notice that you don't know shit." Hiccup said, still trying to look threatening.

"Watch your tongue you little runt!"

"If you know so much, tell me what dragon does Fáfnir ride."

"Snotlout said he saw you on a Nadder taking Astrid away."

"He is an idiot and I asked you what dragon Fáfnir rides, not what dragon carried me and Astrid away from Berk that night."

"A black dragon. The pirate was too stupid to recognize it." Cuyler said not knowing what is the sense of this conversation.

"He didn't recognize it because no one saw it before." Hiccup said.

"And why is that?" Cuyler asked, mocking Hiccup again.

"Because it's _the unholy offspring of lighting and death itself _and it's very protective." Hiccup said, noticing Cuyler expression slowly starting to pale.

"A Nightfury? You ride a Nightfury?" He asked shocked looking at the boy.

"Hiccup, we still have to talk to the new trader, so, can you two finish this another time?" Astrid asked, approaching Hiccup and helping him to walk away.

"Are you serious? Now?" Cuyler asked his daughter.

"He is already here and I need to talk to him to make a deal for the weapons." Astrid explained helping Hiccup to sit down on a barrel.

"He wanted to kill me. WITH DRAGONS!" Her father yelled. "How could you love him after he befriended dragons?!"

Astrid gave her father a sad look. "Dad... I befriended three of those Nadders and the two Gronckles that are here." She said, trying not to face her father, but instead trying to help Hiccup with his wound. She thought that he broke a rib or something. Hiccup was still kind of small compared to other vikings and a direct punch from her father would cause some damage.

"WHAT?!" Te yelled at her.

"YES! DRAGONS ARE FRIENDLY AND THEY AREN'T THE BEASTS WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!" The yelled back annoyed at her father. She never did that, but she was just so angry that he hurt Hiccup. That her father hurt _her _Hiccup. Cuyler was now looking at her as she was trying to somehow reduce the pain in Hiccup's chest. He was shocked by her reaction. She would have never done something like that before. She wouldn't have dared to treat her father with disrespect before. That _runt _changed her. Hiccup managed to destroy all that he created for fifteen years in just five months. He managed to make Astrid forget about their viking heritage and _befriend _the beasts that killed them for generations.

"I underestimated your destructive powers." Cuyler said with a weak voice, looking at Hiccup.

"DAD! Don't. Go. There." Astrid said with a threatening voice while glaring at her father. But Hiccup grabbed her hand, stopping her. He then slowly got up and approached the viking.

"I tried to protect Astrid since she first arrived to my island, three months ago. That was your job, as a father, to defend your daughter from the world. I did MY best to protect her. So don't try to place your failure as a parent on me. YOU were the one that banished her from Berk. YOU were the one that abandoned her. YOU were supposed to be there for her after everything she went through. And I will use my _destructive powers _to make all you stupid vikings understand that the viking way is WRONG." Hiccup yelled at the man.

"You better watch your tongue boy. I am not afraid of joining my friends in Valhalla." Cuyler warned him.

"Of course you are not." Hiccup shot back with a mocking tone. "You made sure that you have enough blood on your hands to make it difficult for us to achieve peace with an enemy we can't possibly defeat."

"The dragons _can _and _will_ be defeated. We just have to find the nest." Cuyler said.

"You really think it's that easy? There are six different nests that I know only in the Barbaric Archipelago. You have no possibility to defeat them. Even if you manage to destroy one, the years that would take to recover the manpower would be more than enough for the nest to be rebuilt."

"That can't be true." Cuyler said, looking surprised at Hiccup. That information couldn't be true. There was no possible way to be _that_ many dragons.

A new person joined the conversation. "You must be Astrid. The chief told me that I could find you here." All of them looked surprised at the new person. Cuyler didn't even noticed when the dragons sneaked away.

"Yes. I am Astrid." The girl said with a forced small smile on her face. She didn't want to let Hiccup and her father alone, things could get ugly.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Ealdwine and I came all the way from Somerset to make a trade agreement for your excellent weapons." The man said.

Well, this was bad. Astrid wasn't in the mood for this now. Things were just to tense right now for her to think about how she could get more silver from him.

"Wait a few seconds. Aren't you Hiccup, from the Hairy Hooligans?" The trader asked, noticing Hiccup.

"No, I'm not. You must got me confused with someone else." Hiccup quickly said. He knew that nobody must know his true identity. That could create a lot of problems for the village and for them.

"I am sorry but I don't forget a face. Especially when it is worth five gold nuggets." Ealdwine said, making a small sign and another six warriors quickly joined him.

"Oh. Five gold nuggets? Why didn't you say so?" Hiccup said turning around to face the merchant and his warriors. He shot a quick look at Astrid and he saw her discreetly nod. That was the sign he was looking for.

"So you wouldn't mind to join us to have a small talk, wouldn't you?" Ealdwine said again.

"I am sorry fellow, but I am not able to follow you were you are going." Hiccup said before releasing a small sigh. He hated to do this, but Berk kind of forced him to accept his new life. He then quickly grabbed his dagger and threw it at the soldier near Astrid, straight through his eye. The girl quickly grabbed the weapon and with a quick move she sliced the throat of the next soldier. Hiccup then leaped forward, knocking down one of the soldiers, he quickly got his sword and stood up slowly backing away from them. Before they could even understand what happened, two of the soldiers were killed and one was unarmed. The teens then both charged at the remaining forces, gracefully dodging their attacks and killing them.

Cuyler and the merchant were both looking shocked at the two teens. They just killed six soldiers that probably fought in a lot of battles, in less than a minute. Hiccup quickly dropped his weapon and approached Astrid.

"Are you all right?" He asked hugging her.

"Yes, are you?" She asked returning the hug.

"They are starting to get serious." Hiccup said holding his girlfriend closely near him, afraid that someone might want to take her away.

"Last time there were only two." Astrid said, still holding him.

"I couldn't bear to see you hurt." Hiccup said slowly moving away her bangs from her eyes.

"Me neither." Astrid said before kissing the boy.

Her father and the trader were both looking dumbfounded at the two persons that just bested six trained soldiers in combat. After almost half a minute, Cuyler decided they had enough time and he cough in his hand. The teens quickly noticed and awkwardly separated.

"Well fought." Astrid quickly said, slightly blushing.

"Y-You too." Hiccup quickly responded, also starting to blush.

"How in Odin's beard did you two managed to do that?" Cuyler asked, looking shocked at the teens.

"Well...It's not the first time..." Astrid awkwardly said. She still hadn't recovered from the idea that her father just saw them kiss. She was sure that Hiccup was in the same situation, but he was a lot more timid than her, so she figured that she would have to stand for them this time.

"You killed before?" He said slowly approaching his daughter.

"Well, yes. To defend myself." Astrid said, slowly recovering from the awkward situation.

"So, you killed humans before you killed dragons?" Her father asked.

"Well, so far only humans tried to kill me." Astrid quickly shot back, knowing where he was going with this conversation. Her father sighed and quickly closed by and hugged her. He was happy that she was still alive. He would worry about her relationship with Hiccup later, the small fight that broke in front of him just made him more sure that he wasn't going to abandon her daughter. He was going to protect her from future bounty hunters. He then slowly let Astrid go and approach the merchant, or the bounty hunter, or whatever he was. He slowly removed his weapon from its sheath and with a quick move decapitated the man.

"I didn't know that the word had traveled so fast. I will protect you from all the bounty hunters that are going to come. You have my word." Cuyler said approaching his daughter.

"Dad, can you come to live with us on our island? The place is huge. We can train there, we can hunt, there is plenty of space for the dragons." Astrid asked at which her father sighed.

"I will join you two. I will try to accept dragons being around all the time, for you." He said hugging her again. After that, he slowly started to walk away in the village. Hiccup slowly approached her.

"Do you know what you just did?" He asked her with a sad expresion.

"You two will get along fine. Trust me." She said trying to contain her excitement.

"That is not what I was meaning." He said slowly kissing her. Astrid was took a little by surprise by this. He usually wouldn't try to kiss her without any reasons.

"Why was that for?" She asked a little confused.

"We wouldn't be able to do that whenever we want anymore." He said slowly walking to the forge. Now this really took Astrid by surprise.

"And why not? Please don't tell me you don't like me anymore. Not after what..." Astrid began to say but was quickly interrupted by another kiss. "What in Hel's name is wrong with you?"

"I don't want to have our little moments in front of your father." Hiccup said before entering the forge.

"But he wouldn't be always there. He will have stuff to do, right?" she asked just realizing the situation.

"He said that he will never leave you and that he will protect you, so what stuff do you think he would have to do?" Hiccup asked her a little annoyed by her rash decision.

"Shit..."

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	13. Heim

******Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and a few scenes for this chapter. ****Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

* * *

"I hope this dragon won't try something funny." Cuyler said as he rode with Astrid on Stormfly back to their island.

"She won't, dad. She trusts me and she won't do anything to hurt me." Astrid said.

"Dragon are wild creatures and can't be tamed. So don't expect me to let my guard down near those beasts."

'He should be grateful that I am willing to carry him.' Stormfly said, feeling insulted by Astrid's father. The girl just sighed. If she managed to convince her father that dragons weren't dangerous, then she could practically convince anyone in the Barbaric Archipelago.

Hiccup was still on Jàrnstarfa to finish the weapons he needed to make. Cuyler arrival slightly ruined his program for that day. He had to go to the healer to check his wound and he had problems hammering the iron with the pain in his chest. He said that he would come to their island in a day and bring the rest of Cuyler's stuff back to their home then.

After they finally landed on the island, Cuyler quickly dismounted the Nadder and started to look around him, expecting to be attacked by dragons. He was slightly surprised when nothing happened.

"So, they are trying to ambush me." He slowly said, drawing his bow.

"They won't attack you as long as you are with me." Astrid said slightly annoyed by his paranoia.

"Then why won't they show themselves?" He asked at which Astrid sighed.

"There is only one dragon in the vicinity now..."

"One dragon is not enough to kill me."

"She won't try to..." Astrid began to say slightly annoyed before she realized that there was no way to reason with her dad yet, so she decided to summon the dragon. "Scauldy, please come out..." Astrid called. A huge Scauldron emerged out of the water and slightly landed on the beach, still being with half of his body in the sea. Cuyler was looking amazed at the dragon as he slowly started to back away.

"Dad, this is Scauldy. She is a Scauldron and she is an elder of her species. That means that she is older and stronger than your average Scauldron. And Scauldy, this is my dad. He is a viking and a veteran in the war against dragons, but he is trying to change and he won't hurt dragons anymore." Astrid said.

'Tell him I am looking forward to our cooperation on the battlefield.' Scauldy said looking at Astrid. The girl looked slightly worried at her father and back at the Scauldron before she discreetly shook her head. 'Why won't you tell him?' the dragon asked looking confused at the girl.

'He doesn't know that she can talk to us, yet.' Stormfly said at which Astrid discreetly nodded.

'That is a wonderful ability that a few could master in such a short period time. Why didn't she tell him about this yet?' Scauldy asked Stormfly.

'I think that she is afraid that her father might think she is insane or something.' Stormfly responded at which Astrid nodded again.

"So, dad, let's go to the cave and eat something." Astrid said starting to depart from them.

"How did you manage to tame a Scauldron this big?" her father asked surprised, still not moving.

"Well, Hiccup was the one that convinced her to join us." Astrid said.

"How?"

"Scauldy was curious when she saw Hiccup flying with Toothless and she liked the idea of humans living in coexistence with dragons."

"How do you know that she liked the idea?" her father asked looking confused at her.

"She told us." Astrid said not really paying attention to their conversation.

"She told you?"

"Yes, she told...No, I mean we figured out that she liked the idea when she followed Hiccup and Toothless back here and she didn't attack us." Astrid quickly corrected herself. She tried to maintain a convincing look on her face as she waited for her father to follow her to the cave. After a few moments of silence her father asked.

"How did you figure out that she liked your idea? How do you know that she didn't just follow Hiccup for food, or for protection?"

"Look at the size of that dragon, dad. She doesn't need protection and she certainly doesn't need help hunting. Why else would she follow him if she wasn't at least a bit curious about the boy riding a Nightfury?" Astrid said.

"Do you really trust dragons?" Cuyler asked with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, I do. I trust Stormfly with my life. She helped me more times that I can even remember. After Snotlout shot that cursed arrow at me, she helped me walk when Hiccup wasn't around, she went hunting for me and helped me cook the food, she even protected me from a wild Monstrous Nightmare."

"But do you trust other dragons except her?"

"Not all dragons are aggressive. Most of them just panic when they see a human, but if you show them that you mean no harm, most of them would try to welcome you. Most of the dragons that live on this island would do anything in their power to achieve peace with humans. Hiccup and I are just trying to help them."

"How do you know that all those dragons agree with you? What if they just see you as their master, not as their comrade?"

"Well, Stormfly and Toothless sometimes prank us, so I think that they wouldn't try to joke with their _masters._"

"But the rest of them? How do you know that they won't betray you when you show weakness?"

"Uhm... I...We practically have two elder dragons. Those dragons are usually on their own, since most of the other dragons fear them. And since we have two, I don't think that they will try to betray us because of fear of punishment. But they don't need to know that we won't punish them." Astrid said trying to create a decent explication without having to tell her father that she can talk to dragons. They finally reached the cave and started to set up the fireplace, after they finished, Stormfly quickly ignited the fire and sat next to it. Astrid and her father began to prepare some meat that her father had in his bag.

"Tell me about this place." her father said.

"Well, Hiccup found this island after he left Berk and two months after I was forced to left, I found him on this island. Its bigger than Berk and it has a lot of boars, so far, we didn't notice any other animals except boars and birds. It's pretty safe since it's not close to any trade route nearby and so far only three boats have visited the island since Hiccup first arrived here." Astrid said as she began to fry the meat.

"What happened to those boats?"

"Well, I think you heard the stories about Fáfnir, so, that's what happened to the first one. The second boat had two bounty hunters that followed a lead to this island, unfortunately for them. And the third one was a transport from Audun, so practically only two enemy boats ever arrived on this island."

"How did you two become such good fighters?"

"I trained with Hiccup after I arrived here and that's how he got so good. After my injury from Berk, I supported him to keep training, and so he did. The only problem is that I have been forced to take a break because of Snotlout, and now I am weak compared to what I was before." Astrid said getting a little sad.

"I am surprised that he managed to become a good fighter after he was just a runt."

"Stop calling him that!" Astrid quickly shot.

"But for you...You actually managed to become quite efficient. You are a lot better than when you left Berk."

"Are you kidding me... I can't even defeat Hiccup anymore! Every time we train he managed to defeat me. I am also sure that he goes easy on me just because he doesn't want to see me disappointed." Astrid said with frustration.

"Maybe he is better than you now, but you are a better fighter than when you left Berk."

"Thanks dad." Astrid said smiling a little. They then began to eat the roasted meat while exchanging stories about their adventures in the past five months.

Meanwhile, Hiccup tried to work all night to finish with the weapons as fast as he could, so that he could return home. Even after almost ten hours, the punch he received from Cuyler, still hurt when he tried to lift something heavy. Just before the sunrise, he managed to finish all his work. Everyone in the village was asleep at this time, so he decided that he would just go home and surprise Astrid. He quickly mounted Toothless and flew to his island, enjoying the sunrise. After they arrived, he slowly entered the cave and started to look for Cuyler, to give him the rest of his stuff, a few arrows and a bag that he left on his boat. He was a little surprised that he couldn't find him anywhere and that the fire was extinguished, so he decided to put the stuff he brought near the fireplace so that Cuyler would notice them. He then managed to see Astrid sleeping near the fireplace. She looked so calm when she was sleeping, not like the violent, over energetic girl she was when she was awake.

Hiccup approached and laid near her. He then slowly kissed her to make her wake up. Astrid subconsciously started to smile at this while she slowly opened her eyes. "What took you so long?" she said as she began to yawn. Hiccup allowed her to finish her yawning before he got back at tenderly kissing her. Astrid didn't hesitated and quickly joined him. In the heat of the moment, as Hiccup brought Astrid closer to him, they didn't hear the footsteps approaching them. They stopped when they heard something hitting the ground. They quickly separated and saw Cuyler with a boar at his feet.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Hiccup." he said as he approached to ignite the fire. Hiccup just made a nervous chuckle.

"I...I brought the rest of your stuff." Hiccup said as he slowly got up to get the bag. After he got the it, Cuyler approached him to inspect his things. He took the bag from Hiccup's hands and quickly looked through it, to see if something was missing, after that, he put the bag next to his other things that he brought.

"You're welcome..." Hiccup said under his breath. He then sat down next to Astrid and placed his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. They both looked as her father tried to ignite the fire, but without success, until Ild approached the fireplace and released a small fireball igniting a few pieces of wood, within almost a minute, the fire was big enough to light the cave. They noticed that Toothless was now sitting nears Stormfly, looking at them and then at Cuyler.

'Is he going to live with us now?' Toothless asked.

"Well..." Hiccup began to say, but was quickly interrupted by Astrid.

"He doesn't know that we can talk to dragons." She quickly whispered.

'Yes.' Stormfly finally answered Toothless's question.

'I wonder how would the other dragons react.'

'Scauldy likes the idea so far and I am pretty sure that no one else knows.' Stormfly said.

"This should be a fun day." Hiccup said under his breath.

"And why is that?" Astrid asked.

"We will have to explain to the other dragon that we will a have guest for some time."

"I don't care if they approve this or even if they like me or not. I will not abandon Astrid again." Cuyler said, joining the conversation.

"They won't attack you as long as you don't try to hurt them." Astrid said.

"You know that they will hunt all the food on this island." her father said.

"No, they won't. Most dragons prefer fish, so they would rather catch fish from the sea than hunt boars. And they know that they are not allowed to hunt on this island. They can stay here, but not hunt." Hiccup said.

"You really think they will obey the rules?" Cuyler asked, laughing at the idea.

"So far they had. No other dragon except Toothless and Stormfly hunted on this island. And also, there are a lot of empty islands nearby, so why wouldn't they go hunt there?" Hiccup said.

"Dragons. Cannot. Be. Tamed." Cuyler said, slowly getting annoyed at Hiccup.

"We didn't _tame_ them, we befriended them. We trust them that they wouldn't hurt us and they trust us that we wouldn't hurt them." Hiccup said. He noticed that Cuyler was visibly starting to get annoyed at him, but to his surprise, he didn't say anything after that. They stood there and ate in silence. After Astrid and Hiccup finished eating, they both walked outside with their weapons, to train, leaving Cuyler with the four dragons. He suspiciously glared at them.

'Do you think we should try and scare him?' Toothless asked, looking at the viking.

'I would strongly advise against it.' Stormly quickly said.

'And why is that?'

'Can't you smell the blood on his hands?'

'So?'

'SO? He can kill us both.' Stormfly shot back annoyed.

'I doubt that he will do that.'

'How do you know that?'

'Because he left.' Toothless said as both of them started to look around the cave for him.

The two teens were on the beach, training in the morning breeze. Hiccup was trying to hit Astrid with his swords while she was gracefully parrying and dodging his attacks, until she saw a mistake. She noticed that Hiccup was slightly out of position so she decided to violently parry his next hits to throw him out balance, and maybe to make him lose a sword. But to her surprise, Hiccup only faked an attack, but she was already trying to parry the strike that didn't come, so now she was the one that was out balanced and he quickly placed a sword to her neck.

"Do you surrender, milady?" Hiccup asked with a small grin on his face.

"You...You..." Astrid said slowly backing away and pointing an threatening finger at him.

"What are you two doing?" Cuyler asked as he approached them.

"We were training." Astrid said, still annoyed at Hiccup.

"Mind if I challenge Hiccup to an friendly duel?" The teens looked surprised at him until Hiccup finally spoke.

"Sure."

"Don't try to kill each other, please." Astrid said as she backed away a little to give them some space. She noticed that Toothless and Stormfly were also near her and they both looked curious at the match that was going to happen.

Cuyler brought his long sword and looked at Hiccup, trying to understand his way of fighting. He never fought a person with two swords before, it just looked unnatural. But the boy also tamed a Nightfury, so he wasn't that surprised anymore. He started the duel by charging at Hiccup, he tried to deliver a powerful swipe to his left arm. Hiccup smiled a little at this opportunity and with a quick move, he parried his attack and tried to hit his hand with the other sword, but he wasn't expecting to receive a kick in the chest. Hiccup fell on his back and quickly stood up, trying to catch his breath.

"You almost got me there." Cuyler said with a smirk before charging again. Hiccup quickly got into a more balanced position and parried the following blow. He then began to attack the viking. He tried to deliver a lot of quick jabs, to find a small weakness in his defense that he was going to exploit later. After the viking blocked a few of his attacks, Cuyler delivered a powerful hook with his left hand to Hiccup's face. The teen quickly collapsed down and dropped his weapons in the process. The boy was down for the count.

"Shit." Astrid quietly said, watching the scene before running to Hiccup.

"He is better than I expected." Cuyler said, noticing Astrid closing by.

"Couldn't you just disarm him or something?" Astrid asked annoyed while helping Hiccup to get up.

"He is disarmed now, isn't he?" He said at which Astrid gave him an annoyed glare. "Let him rest a little, he won't be able to do anything for at least a few minutes." He finished as he walked away. Astrid slowly let Hiccup down and held his head on her lap. After almost minute Hiccup began to recover.

"That was one strong punch."

"Why did you accept his challenge? You know that he's better than you." Astrid asked annoyed by his previous decision on dueling her father.

"I want to get to know him better, for your sake."

"You will die if you continue this way. If not by an accident on your duels, by my hand if you get yourself injured."

Cuyler was making his way through the forest, searching for a spring or some supply of fresh water. While he was exploring the forest, he heard a small crack behind him, he decided to ignore it for now, but after a few more seconds, it happened again, so he quickly drew his bow and notched an arrow at it, targeting the creature that was following him. When he turned around, he saw two Terrible Terrors standing at the end of the arrow.

"What in Hel's name are you two doing?" He asked annoyed looking at the two dragons. He got in a more relaxed position while still glaring at the two dragons, like he was expecting an answer. "Did Hiccup send you?" The dragons slowly shook their heads. "Did you actually understand me?" He asked a little surprised and was even more surprised when he noticed the dragons nodding at him. He shrugged, then turned around and started walking in a random direction, hoping to find a spring. He was a little surprised to notice that the Terrors were still following him. In his search for a supply of fresh water, he noticed a boar sitting near a tree, maybe sleeping. He slowly approached the animal with his dagger out, when he heard a crack behind him, he quickly turned around and noticed the two Terrors starting to wrestle on the ground, this made the boar notice his presence and made him run away. He looked annoyed at the two dragons and then he continued his search.

After a few minutes, he noticed that the two dragons were still following him. "Don't you have anything more important to do?" He asked annoyed, not even turning to face the Terrors. He then noticed another boar and tried to sneak on him, but the Terrors blew his cover again, making the poor animal run. "Great..." He said annoyed walking away, but the dragons were still following him. Then he stopped on his tracks and turned around made a sign for them to go away. "Shoo. Go back to Hiccup." But the dragons didn't budge, they were both looking curiously at him. "Why won't you just leave..." He began to say, but he stopped when he heard someone talk. Then he started to slowly walk toward the voice. When he got close enough, he saw Astrid with her dragon, filling some flasks with water from a spring.

"I am happy that I met him again, but I don't want him to hurt Hiccup." Astrid said, apparently to no one. Then he remember that the Terrors nodded in response when he asked them, so maybe Astrid was talking to her dragon. He wanted to approach and talk to her but he stopped when she continued to say. "But he is my father...He taught me how to be a warrior, I don't want to abandon him." _What is going on?_ He instantly thought after Astrid continued her conversation. She looked like she answered a question, but no one was there to ask it. "Are you sure?" He heard Astrid say. "Dad, can you come from behind that tree?"

"How did you know that I was here?" He said, slowly approaching her near the pond.

"Stormfly told me." Astrid responded.

"The dragon told you?" He asked surprised.

"Well... Uhm…Yes. I can talk to dragons." Astrid slowly said, waiting for his reaction. She hoped that he wouldn't take this as a joke.

"How?" he finally asked, shocked by her declaration.

"I first noticed that I could understand Stormfly three months after I bonded with her. And since then, I began to understand most dragons. And Hiccup also understands dragons." Astrid said.

'He doesn't believe you.' Stormfly said at which Astrid turned and looked at her, before looking back at her father and waiting for his response.

"What did the dragons say?" he asked.

"That you don't believe me."

"Of course I don't believe you. You can't expect me to believe that our archenemies are able to talk and think. We know that dragons act only on instinct and follow the orders of stronger dragons."

'No we don't!' Stormfly said feeling insulted by Astrid's father again.

"They act on their own accord and they only live here because they think that we can help them achieve our common goal."

"They had been raiding us for the last three hundred years. They killed hundreds of vikings and destroyed countless villages."

"You don't understand...There is a hierarchy, each nest is ruled by a huge dragon that we call Queen and they command all the smaller dragons to go and bring food if they want to live. Those Queens are very old and powerful dragons that live on a few islands in this archipelago. The dragons that are following us want to escape the Queens influence and live in peace, not having to worry about getting killed by other dragons or humans." Astrid explained.

"Then why don't they try to fight back?" her father asked.

"When I said that the Queens are huge, I really mean _huge_. They are not like any other dragon that you ever saw. A Queen is at least twenty times bigger than Scauldy, the Scauldron that you just met."

"And how do you plan to bring peace in this world with those monstrous creatures controlling so many dragons? You can't defeat them. This quest failed before it even began."

"A Dragon Rider can maneuver a dragon and increase its combat potential exponentially. If we manage to befriend enough dragons and if we manage to get enough villages to support us, then we can train an army of Dragons Riders and take out the Queens."

"And after the Queens are dead, won't the dragons return to their wild behavior?"

"We can keep them to help us at fishing, or hunting, or even building. There is a special type of metal that can only be made with the help of Gronkles. That's how Jàrnstarfa got so big out of the sudden."

Cuyler sighed as he absorbed all the new information. _Well, Hiccup really changed her..._ He thought before asking her the first thing that came into his mind. "How is Hiccup doing?"

"He is at the cave, resting. He said that he worked all night just to be able to come back this morning." Astrid answered a little surprised but also pleased by her father sudden interest in Hiccup.

They walked in silence to the cave. Cuyler tried to memorize the way to the pond so he wouldn't have to bother Astrid or Hiccup about it. When they finally arrived at the cave they saw Hiccup lying down on his sleeping bag.

"I brought the water you asked for." Astrid said, giving a flask to Hiccup while she placed the others near the wood supply.

"Thank you very much Astrid." Hiccup said quickly drinking from the flask Astrid had given him.

"How are you feeling?" Cuyler asked approaching the boy.

"Dizzy, nauseous and with a terrible headache." Hiccup said covering his eyes with his right arm, trying to block the light. Cuyler slowly laughed at this and patted him on the shoulder, before he stood up.

"You will be fine. For a few minutes I was worried you actually had something serious. I hope that next time you will do better."

"There won't be a next time." Astrid quickly shot in.

"It was just a friendly fight between men. Injuries happen from time to time." Her father said.

"He knew that you were better than him and he only accepted the challenge to prove himself to you."

"Did he now?" Cuyler said under his breath while he turned and looked at Hiccup. "Why would he want to prove himself to me?"

"For my sake! He is not a screw-up anymore. He managed to do what no other viking could do in their life. He..."

"Can you please just shut up and have your conversation elsewhere!" Hiccup yelled annoyed at them, interrupting Astrid's little speech. "You really aren't helping my headache."

"Let me help you train." Cuyler said to Astrid as he walked out of the cave.

"Are you sure you will be fine?" Astrid asked kneeling near Hiccup.

"Yup." He said still covering his eyes from the light. Then Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "Why?" He quickly said rubbing his injured shoulder now.

"That was for yelling at us. And this is a motivation to get better." Astrid said as she quickly kissed him before leaving him in the cave to rest.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	14. Bein

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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It had been almost two weeks since Cuyler's arrival. He was living with Hiccup and Astrid on their island. He was still trying to understand that dragons weren't dangerous and that they were friendly creatures. But the fact that most dragons didn't like him didn't really help, most of the dragons were uncomfortable around him, he had a lot of dragon blood on his hands. Stormfly and Toothless tried to convince them that he was trying to change and that they should all help him, but most of them were just too afraid.

Cuyler still wasn't happy about Astrid's decision to join Hiccup, but as he couldn't convince her to leave the boy, he decided to stay with them to protect her. He had accepted the idea that they liked each other, but he wasn't sure that Hiccup was the right boy. He was a screw-up back in Berk and he wasn't sure that he could protect Astrid. He got her shot with an arrow for Thor's sake. But he tamed more than fifteen dragons, so he had to have some guts to approach them all unarmed and to trust them that they wouldn't gut him. He gave him that merit, but that wasn't enough to win his daughter.

He was sitting near a tree, with his bow prepared trying to find 'dinner'. Each one of them would hunt on turn, today it was his turn. The dragons that lived on this island would go fishing most of the time, so they wouldn't hunt the boars, since the boars are a lot easier for humans to hunt than fish, so they made an unspoken pact that the dragons would go hunting on other islands or they would go fishing, exception being the dragons that lived with them in the cave.

Then, he saw a movement in a bush. He readied his bow and waited to see if it was a boar or a dragon. He tried his best not to hurt any dragons by accident on this island, he knew that if the beasts got mad at him, he couldn't fight all of them back and Astrid and Hiccup wouldn't be able to calm them down. But he had to admit, Hiccup managed to bring together and control a pretty diversified group of dragons.

He was slightly distracted, lost in his thoughts about whole dragon situation, but when something moved again in the bushes, he regained his concentration and when the boar finally got into the clearing, he released his arrow and killed the unsuspecting animal. He then grabbed the boar on his back and went back to the cave.

When he reached the cave, he noticed Astrid leaning her head on Hiccup's shoulder and softly talking to him. "I brought dinner." he said approaching the couple and throwing the dead boar on the ground near the fire.

"Dad, we were just talking about you." Astrid said with a small smile. Cuyler and Hiccup didn't really talk that much, they tried to get on some common ground for Astrid's sake, they even had their small _duels _sometimes, but they were still pretty distant, so, Astrid was most of the times the _messenger_ between the two of them.

"Nothing bad, I hope." Cuyler said with a small laugh. He then started to skin the boar and prepare the meat to be cooked.

"We were thinking that you should learn how to ride a dragon." Astrid said, hoping that her father would like the idea.

"Not going to happen. You will not see me on one of those flying reptiles." he said with a serious tone, but not aggressive, showing that he didn't really like the idea. He was happy that his daughter cared about him after he was forced to banish her, but he wasn't going to betray the viking way. He had done too much to go back now, it was just too late for him. Maybe if he was younger and didn't have so much dragon blood on his hands, he would have considered it, but not now, he was famous in the entire archipelago as one of the most efficient dragon slayers, he couldn't just throw away all the work he had done trying to make a name for himself for a silly pet.

'I don't even know if a dragon would want to fly with him.' Stormfly said talking to Toothless. There were only five dragons that knew that he wasn't a threat anymore, one of them lived in the sea and couldn't be ridden, two of them already had riders and the other two were too small to have a rider.

'Well, he is a good marksman, so he could fly a slow and steady dragon to shoot arrows from.' Toothless began to think of a dragon that could be good for Cuyler.

'I think even a faster dragon could do. Hiccup can use the bow from your back and you fly very fast and he is a better marksman that Hiccup.' Stormfly said.

"Even Stormfly and Toothless are trying to help you." Astrid pointed out after she noticed the dragons conversation. Her father got used with the idea of her and Hiccup talking to dragons, but sometimes he couldn't really believe what the dragons were saying. Why would Toothless and Stormfly want to help him? He was a dragon slayer. He didn't kill another dragons since he finally found Astrid again, but he killed hundreds of their species before. He knew the enormous military and mercantile advantages the dragons could provide. Even the simple idea of flying over some small islands would reduce the traveling speed by hours. Even days in long trips. You could easily use a dragon like Stormfly to gain an advantage over the enemy in combat, you could easily take down a ship with a Scauldron or a Hideous Zippleback, and you could easily transport a lot of building materials and heavy stuff with a Gronckle. The dragons were very useful in a lot of situations and he knew that. But his viking stubbornness and his reputation didn't allow him to befriend them. He wasn't even sure that he would disliked to have a dragon, but all the dragons on this island and on Jàrnstarfa knew him and his reputation. Even if he might want to befriend a dragon, a dragon might not want to befriend him.

"We can even try to find you a dragon." Hiccup finally spoke.

"I don't want a dragon." The man responded a little annoyed at their sudden attempts to force him to get a dragon.

"But dad, imagine all the potential you would get by having one." Astrid said getting up and approaching her father. "If you would befriend a dragon, a man by your stature and with your reputation, you could go to any small village and convince them to join us. It would help a lot." Not to mention that it would help them bond together.

"I know Astrid, but even you said that the dragons could _smell _all the blood on my hands. After I lived with them for two weeks I know that they are not the bloodthirsty beasts we initially thought, but I am not willing to go that far to trust a dragon with my life since I know that most of them don't trust me." He tried to prove his point. He knew that Stormfly and Toothless trusted him and weren't afraid of him, even Ild and Blad trusted him, but the rest of the dragons on the island still looked at him with suspicious looks. He did nothing to hurt them, but his past couldn't be ignored.

'Now that he mentioned it...' Toothless said.

"But if a dragon trusted you, would you be willing to be his rider?" Hiccup asked getting up and approaching the man.

"If a dragon would trust me, then I might consider it." Cuyler said trying to point that out. After all the time he spent with them he saw Hiccup make _the offspring of lighting and dead itself _purr like a cat and the Deadly Nadder staring at her reflection for hours, admiring herself. The dragons looked just like some big, flying and _unique_ domestic animals.

"Good, then let's find you a dragon." Hiccup said slowly walking to exit the cave. Astrid was looking excited at her father, he will finally understand how friendly and awesome dragons are.

"Let's go!" She said quickly following Hiccup. Cuyler slowly got up and looked at Toothless and Stormfly.

"You really think that there is a dragon that will feel connected to me somehow and wouldn't be afraid of me?" He asked the two dragons. He was a little happy when he notice the two of them nod. He still couldn't believe that the dragons managed to learn Norse and to understand them. Hiccup said that he got to understand Toothless after more than six months of being with him and Astrid started to understand dragons after four months of being with Toothless and Stormfly, and other dragons. They both explained him that they could befriend other dragons, but they only felt bonded to the ones they rode. They only had a bond with Toothless and Stormfly.

Cuyler then followed the two dragons outside after Astrid and Hiccup. He noticed the two teens looking in the forest, slowly talking with each other. He walked near them so that they would notice him.

"So, what dragons live on this island?" Hiccup asked looking at Toothless.

The Nightfury was a little surprised by this question since he had no idea and quickly looked at Stormfly to answer it. The Nadder looked at him with an annoyed expression and said.

'Here we have six Gronckles, four Nadders, two Changewings , two Monstrous Nightmares, two Zipplebacks, one Timberjack and Scauldy. And almost ten Terrors, but I think they aren't that important in the matter at hand.' Stormfly said.

'Exactly what I was thinking.' Toothless quickly finished.

"So... The Zipplebacks and Scauldy are out without question." Astrid said. "So, dad, how do you like Gronckles and Nadders?"

"I don't think a Gronckle would be good for him..." Hiccup said thinking about the possibilities.

"Why?" Astrid asked.

"Because I think he would like to use his bow from a dragon and a Gronckle just isn't agile enough for him." Hiccup said. Cuyler was sitting behind them listening to their conversation, he quietly nodded at Hiccup's reasoning. He agreed with him on this situation. A Gronckle would be too slow and _heavy_ for his liking.

"What about a Nadder then?" Astrid asked.

"Hmm... I don't know..." Hiccup began. "It just doesn't seem right..."

"How does it not seem right?" Astrid sighed. Hiccup turned and looked at her father.

"Would you like a Deadly Nadder?" Hiccup asked her father.

"Well, Nadders are very loyal and powerful dragons. Their fire is one of the strongest known to us and their poison is deadly." As Cuyler said, Stormfly slowly got in a proud position trying to show her greatness. "But they are very lazy and way too proud." as he said that Stormfly quickly dropped her proud stature and looked revolted at his declaration.

'That is not true! We are not lazy and certainly we are not too proud.' the Nadder said offended. Toothless laughed at her reaction and that only made Stormfly more annoyed, she shot a few spikes at the Nightfury, which he graceful dodged.

"I wouldn't recommend the Timberjack or the Changewings. So maybe you can befriend a Monstrous Nightmare?" Hiccup said more like a question.

"But wouldn't I get burn by their ability to light themselves on fire?" Cuyler asked.

"Well...Yes..." Astrid said trying to think of another dragon on that they knew.

"We can explore the nearby islands and try to find other species of dragons." Hiccup suggested.

'We can go to Bein.' Toothless suggested.

"Why would we want to go to Bein? You know that he let us live because we promised not to bother him anymore?" Hiccup asked with a sarcastic tone looking at Toothless.

"Who is Bein?" Astrid asked, looking a little surprised at him.

"Didn't I tell you?" Hiccup responded a little surprised.

"I don't think so." Astrid said with a slightly annoyed look.

"Didn't I tell you about a Boneknapper that almost killed me and Toothless?" Hiccup asked again, still looking surprised.

"Wait! That almost killed YOU and Toothless?" Astrid asked the boy, shocked. "YOU never told me that a BONEKNAPPER ALMOST KILLED YOU!" She yelled at him.

"Sorry..." Hiccup quickly responded, taking a few steps back. He looked at Toothless for help in this conversation.

"When did this happen?" She asked.

'When you were injured,' Toothless said trying to help his friend.

"DON'T YOU INTERVENE IN THIS!" Astrid shot back at which Toothless backed away a few steps.

'You can't say that I didn't try,' the Nightfury said before joining Stormfly and Cuyler that were watching the scene from a safe distance.

"Astrid, I am sure we can talk this out without maiming or killing me...Please?" Hiccup said backing away until he reached a tree. He knew that an angry Astrid was a dangerous Astrid.

"Now, tell me when this happened!" She said while pinning him to the tree and stabbing him in the chest with her finger.

"I was flying with Toothless when we saw a Boneknapper being attacked by some vikings and he was losing. So we intervened and he got annoyed at us and wanted to kill us. Please don't hurt me..." Hiccup said slowly raising his hands to ask for mercy.

"And how did you manage to make him _not _to kill you?" She said relaxing a little. It was hard to try and hurt a Hiccup that looked so scared, it looked almost adorable.

"We ran." Hiccup quickly responded.

"And how did you promise not to bother him if you ran away?" Astrid asked trying to make sense in his story. She was now slowly backing away from him.

"Well...He didn't really respond back, so we took the lack of response as a 'yes'." Hiccup said recovering his position. After he was standing near her she quickly turned around and hit him in his shoulder.

"That is for not telling me that you almost died!" Astrid said before turning around and mounting Stormfly.

"You should be happy, she always hit Snotlout a lot harder." Her father said.

"Snotlout is an asshole. And on the other hand, I like Hiccup." She said extending her hand to help her father mount Stormfly.

"I don't want to know what you would have done if you didn't like me." Hiccup said, rubbing his arm while getting on his Nightfury.

"So, lead us to Bein!" Astrid said looking at Hiccup.

"He lives on an island not so far from here." The teen said while directing Toothless to that island. Stormfly quickly followed them with Astrid and Cuyler. They reached that island in less than ten minutes. The island was mostly rocky and without much vegetation and trees. The first thing they noticed after they landed was a huge amount of bones scattered around the place.

"I don't remember so many bones being here..." Hiccup said, getting slightly worried by their surroundings.

'There certainly weren't so many skeletons when we were here last time.' Toothless said looking around.

"Don't tell me that you are afraid." Astrid said, noticing their expressions.

"You never saw a Boneknapper, did you?" Her father asked her.

"No. But I bet they aren't that dangerous." She said looking around. They all turned and looked at her after her response. "What?" she asked being surprised by their reaction.

"They are bigger than a Monstrous Nightmare." Her father stated.

"They are fully covered in bones." Hiccup continued.

"And they have a powerful flame breath." Cuyler then finished.

"So...They are slightly dangerous." Astrid said, not wanting to be proven wrong.

"Astrid, those dragons could..." Cuyler began to say before he was rudely interrupted by the Boneknapper. They all looked at the monstrous dragon. "It's a lot bigger than I remembered." He finally said.

"Please don't hurt us. We come to bring you an offer." Hiccup said, trying to look friendly in the eyes of the huge dragon. But the dragon just glared at them. He didn't make a sound. He didn't even tried to communicate his intentions.

"Toothless, can you please talk to him?" Astrid said, trying to improve the situation.

'We are here just to bring you an offer. If you don't want to accept it, we will just leave.' Toothless said slowly approaching the mighty beast, but the dragon didn't respond. He was just looking at them, measuring each one of them. Until he laid eyes on Cuyler. He noticed the bone bow he had on his back. The bone bow that would fit perfectly for his armor.

So the Boneknapper quickly charged at them. They were all taken by surprise by this. They all dodged his attack before he charged again at Astrid's father. He started to run from the dragon, trying to hide in the bones that were everywhere on the field.

"What does it want?" He yelled back at the teens, hoping to figure this out.

"What does a Boneknapper want?" Astrid said looking desperately at Hiccup. Her father was in danger and she couldn't really do anything to help him. The dragon would have killed them all, it was just to huge and powerful for them.

"YOUR BOW!" Hiccup yelled at Cuyler, running towards him.

"What with it?" He asked confused.

"Give it to him." The teen responded approaching the enraged dragon.

"Why would I do that?" the other man answered.

"That is why he is attacking YOU. He wants to finish his armor and your bone bow is perfect for it." Hiccup said, now being near Toothless and at a relatively safe distance from the enraged dragon. Cuyler quickly unequipped his bow and threw it at the dragon. The dragon instantly moved his attention from the viking, to the weapon that was now lying on the ground. He quickly grabbed the bow with his fangs and he was trying to place it on his chest armor where it was slightly cracked. It was rather funny, looking at a huge dangerous dragon, trying so hard to equip the bone bow and failing.

"What is he doing?" Cuyler asked, approaching Hiccup and his dragon.

"He is trying to equip your bow, but he is doing a terrible job." The teen pointed out.

"What do we do now?" The man asked confused.

"You can go and help him. I am pretty sure he will appreciate it." Hiccup said. Cuyler looked at him with a questioning look. "Just make sure you talk to him and make sure that he knows that you don't want to hurt him."

The viking started to approach the Boneknapper. "I am not going to hurt you." He said as he got the dragons attention. "Let me help you with that." He picked the bow from the ground and stood near the dragon. He slowly raised the bone weapon and placed it in the crack in the dragon's armor. It was a perfect match. The Boneknapper released a happy roar and playfully nudged the viking. "What is he doing?" Cuyler asked confused by the dragon.

"He is thanking you." Astrid said, staying near Hiccup. It was a wonderful view. To see a stubborn old viking to make a friend with a deadly dragon. To finally understand that dragons weren't a threat anymore. She felt her heart fill with joy and pride for her father.

'Can you tell the viking that I thank him for willingly giving his weapon to me?' The Boneknapper said.

"He is thanking you for giving him your weapon." Hiccup said.

"Tell him I am grateful to him for not killing me." The viking said, starting to pet his new dragon.

"What are you going to name him?" Astrid asked.

"He already has a name. It's Bein." Hiccup pointed out. "The vikings he was fighting called him like that, I found out later that he is one of the strongest Boneknappers that exists. None of his species should grow this big. So, I think he is an Elder Dragon, like Scauldy."

"So you like Bein?" Cuyler asked his dragon. Not being sure what he was supposed to do with his new friend.

'Can you tell me not to treat me like that? I am an elder of my species and I don't appreciate being treated without the respect I deserve.' The dragon said, getting slightly annoyed by the way the viking was talking to him. They were both _elders_ of their species. They both had a lot of blood on their names. They both fought in many wars, so they both deserved respect. It was a rather unexpected friendship if you think about it. They both killed hundreds of the other ones species and now they are both agreeing to cooperate to bring peace.

"But I though you dragons liked to be treated like that." Astrid said looking confused at the dragon.

'I am not one of those younglings that follows you. I had survived through centuries of conflict.' Bein said.

'Well, he is older than three hundred years.' Stormfly said, being slightly insulted by him, but not daring to respond back.

"So, this dragon is an elder and he wants to be treated with respect. Not like we treat Toothless and Stormly." Hiccup said looking at the two of them.

"Good. I had no idea how to treat him like you treat your dragons." Cuyler said slightly petting his dragon on the head.

"So, can we go home now and eat something?" Astrid finally said mounting Stormfly.

"Wait, that means that I am going to fly with Bein?" Cuyler asked as both him and Bein looked surprised at Astrid.

"Yes, why not?" Astrid asked back.

"I never flew with a dragon before."

"The Boneknapper has a long neck, so you will sit on his neck and grab a hold on his horns. If a dragon has a short neck, like a Gronckle or a Deadly Nadder, you will sit on its back. And always remember to talk to your dragon about where to go or do you want him to do and you must never try to force some maneuvers on him, because he has a lot more experience in flying than you, so you must trust him. Well, that's about it." Hiccup said as he mounted Toothless.

"See you home." Astrid said as she and Hiccup began to fly back to their island.

Bein and Cuyler gave each other a confused glance before Cuyler began. "I should've expected something like that...Do you mind helping me get home?"

'If that means that I can have my revenge on Waelise and on the Nadder, then yes.' Bein said lowering his neck so that Cuyler can mount him. They flew at a slow pace and mostly in silence, Cuyler would give directions from time to time. After almost half an hour they reached the island.

Astrid and Hiccup where waiting for them in front of the cave, with their dragons closely behind them. "So, how was your first flight with a dragon all on your own?" Astrid asked a little amused.

"You didn't have to abandon me on the island." Cuyler answered a little annoyed.

"You are still in one piece, so I think it went pretty well." Astrid said with a small smile.

"We didn't try to kill each other, if that's what you are talking about."

"No, no you didn't, but you managed to surpass your differences and help each other get here. You two, both veterans and warriors, managed to cooperate and travel here as a team. I am proud of you dad." Astrid said, slowly approaching him and grabbing him in a strong hug. Cuyler couldn't do anything but smile at his daughter.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far. And a quick announcement, I won't be able to update the story next week since I will be away from home, so expect the next chapter to be uploaded the next Monday.**


	15. Help

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions. And I will also like to apologize for the late update, I will try to keep more to the shedule in the future, thanks for your patience.**

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The village of Jàrnstarfa slowly grew to almost three hundred vikings. They all knew about the dragons and they all tried to hide them from the visitors and from the traders. They even built a few stables to hide them. There was a total of twenty dragons protecting Jàrnstarfa now. Ten Gronckles that also provided the strong metal that made the village famous, two Changewings that were used sometimes to explore the island discreetly, to be sure that there weren't any unwanted visitors, five Deadly Nadders that would be used mostly for range combat, with their ability to throw spikes, two Hideous Zipplebacks that had the potential of blowing up an entire fleet with their gas and a Monstrous Nightmare. The leader of this defensive force was Skuller, with his brother Nubs. Hiccup noticed that usually the Monstrous Nightmare was one of the most intelligent dragons, but there were exceptions, like Skuller and Stormfly, not to mention the Elder Dragons.

Back on their island there were even more dragons. There were ten Deadly Nadders, four Gronkles, four Hideous Zipplebacks, seven Changewings, two Timberjacks, one Typhoomerang, the one that they met on Berk when Astrid was shot, they named him Torch and there were almost thirty Terrible Terrors. And let's not forget about Scauldy, Bein and Toothless. Bein and Cuyler had reached a common agreement over the bone bow, Bein would carry it most of the time to be allowed to speak with the others, but would give the weapon back to Cuyler before combat. To Astrid's and Hiccup's surprise, Cuyler and his dragon actually were quite close, he still couldn't understand him, but so far they never had any conflicts or any problems, so, for a viking that killed over one hundred dragons, to be a good friend with a dragon that killed hundreds of vikings, was an achievement in their book.

Since Cuyler was the most experienced fighter of all of them, he was the one that would usually train them. He also got a special interest in Hiccup's combat ability, making the two of them to get on some common ground. They still had their duels from time to time, at which Hiccup would lose, but he was getting better, or that's what Cuyler said anyway. But he was mostly surprised by Hiccup's skill with ranged weapons, he was able to keep a deadly accuracy while riding with Toothless at high speeds.

He was still slightly disappointed by the fact that Astrid and Hiccup were a couple, he still had some of his _old_ viking mentality and wanted her daughter to marry a chief or a rich trader, not to live on an isolated island with _dragons_, but, she seemed happy with Hiccup so he didn't make a big deal out of it. If Astrid is happy, he is happy.

The teens were content with him being here. He helped them in most important matters with the village and with the traders and somehow he managed to make them grow even closer to each other. Now, they used to spend even more time together than before and they were never further than ten feet away from each other. Lately, they used to sneak away at night with their dragons to fly and spend some time alone, since Astrid's father was with them most of the times, they missed their make-out sessions. But Cuyler quickly noticed their absence and was pretty angry at them until he started to get a better understanding of their relation with their dragons. Toothless and Stormfly were very protective and they would do anything to protect their riders, the dragons were also quite smart, so they wouldn't allow them to do something stupid. After a few discussions with their dragons, he allowed them to spend as much time together as they wanted. He even managed to build some respect towards Hiccup, to some extent. Of course he was older and wiser than him, but the boy knew how to be a chief. He was a born leader and good strategist. A lot of times he was surprised by his caring and soft heart that also managed to be strong and intimidating when needed. In the end, Hiccup was an excellent leader and a very strong person, he also has a different way of seeing things and after so many years of war, a different approach was all they needed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One night, after they snuck out again they went on a small island nearby, where they used to go on the more warmer nights when the sky was clean to watch the stars. This island was ideal because it wasn't inhabited by any dangerous animals or vikings and it had a small grassy hill. On that hill they usually sat for hours telling stories and legends about different gods and mythical creatures or just talking random nonsense while admiring the night's sky.

"Hey Astrid." Hiccup said after a few minutes of silence.

"Hm?" She responded, more like a question.

"You think that Toothless's scale could be melted?" He asked at which Toothless quickly stood up and looked confused at him.

'What?' The Nightfury quickly joined the conversation.

"I was thinking of making some armor from the scales you shed. They are pretty resistant and light, so, why not?"

"Well, you are the blacksmith and I know that you wouldn't ask about my opinion on this if you wouldn't have a problem. So, what is it?" Astrid asked.

"They don't melt..."

'I am a dragon, of course my scales don't melt.' Toothless said lying back in the tall grass.

"Maybe you can get a Deadly Nadder to try and melt them. The Nadder's flame is the most powerful we know so far." Hiccup quickly stood up and with an excited voice asked.

"Do you mind if I borrow Stormfly?"

"No, go ahead." Astrid said slightly amused watching Hiccup run and mounting Stormfly. In a few seconds they were almost out of sight. She knew this was going to be another of those nights when he would work all night, forgetting about anything else and not resting at all. And she knew that she would have the possibility to tease him in the morning. At least it wouldn't be just another uneventful day in Jàrnstarfa.

'How does he have my scales?' Toothless asked after a few seconds, confused.

"You leave them everywhere, so after a while, he started to collect them. And I think that now he has enough to try and make an armor." Astrid responded, lying back on the grass.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hiccup quickly rode to Jàrnstarfa with Stormfly, it was already almost midnight so he decided to not announce his arrival. They went to his main forge, where he kept Toothless's scales, then he quickly gathered a decent amount of scales and put them in the forge. He ignited the fire and waited for the forge to get at a decent temperature. Then he tried to smelt the materials with traditional methods, but when he failed, he brought Stormfly closer to help him. The Nadder made a small and steady flame on the scales, in a few seconds the scales started to melt, creating a small red mass of scales. After the mass looked malleable, he slowly petted Stormfly and grabbed the scales with a set of tongs and started to hammer the mass, trying to give the form of a helmet, but after almost ten minutes, the scales started to cool down, making them less malleable, so he needed Stormfly's help again. After almost four hours of continuous hammering and reheating he finally had a decent looking helmet, but it still needed some finishing details. After the scales cooled down a little, he tried the helmet. It was fitting perfectly. It covered all of his head and a little of his neck. Then he had the idea of making another part for the helmet that will cover his face, so that he will be protected from fire and direct attacks. It would also help when talking to traders and visiting other villages, so he wouldn't be recognized, helping him to keep his true identity a mystery.

After another three hours, he had a helmet that also included a mask. He connected the mask with the helmet by a small joint at the forehead. Then he tied the two pieces together with a small leather strip on each side of his face, so that the mask wouldn't be moving chaotically when he flew with Toothless or when he was fighting with somebody. He looked proudly at his design. After he wore the helmet for a few minutes, he noticed that the scale helmet was rather cold and he could only imagine the torture he will have to endure on long flights with Toothless, now that winter was getting closer. So he decided to line the helmet with some fur to make it a little warmer. After almost a hour, he finished his helmet. He turned it around to search for small defects, but to his joy, he didn't find any. He placed the helmet on the workbench and slowly leaned on the floor. The forge was still a little hot, so the floor was pretty warm, he even brought a small fur cloak from the back room and used it as a blanket, so now he was warm and comfy. The perfect time for a nap.

But after not so long, Hiccup was brutally woken up by a bucket of cold water being thrown at him. "That's for not coming back." Astrid said with a smirk.

"What-Why...Do you really have to do that?" Hiccup asked annoyed. "Every time I try to wake you up I try to be gentle and tender and not aggressive like this." He said gesticulating.

"Well, that's not my problem now, is it?" Astrid said, laughing at him while she went to the workbench to inspect the 'thing' that stopped him from getting back home. "This is what you've been working at?" She said examining the helmet.

"How long have I been asleep?" Hiccup asked looking at Stormfly.

'Thirty minutes.' Stormfly sleepily said as Hiccup just sighed. The dragon was sleeping curled near the forge, to absorb the remaining heat before the forge cooled down.

"You made this from Toothless's scales?" Astrid asked, carefully turning the helmet to explore every little detail.

"I worked all night to make it." HIccup stated proudly, approaching her.

"It really looks amazing, but it's too light to resist a frontal attack."

"I didn't really test its resistance yet. But at how hard it was to hammer those scales, I am sure it will hold."

"Want to make a bet?"

"Sure."

"I will hit this helmet as hard as I can with my axe and if it breaks, you will have to go hunting instead of me for a whole month."

"And if it doesn't?"

"I will go hunting instead of you for a month."

"Deal." Hiccup said quickly placing the helmet on the working bench. Without any hesitation, Astrid delivered a powerful blow at the helmet with her axe. The piece of armor flew of the table into a nearby wall. They quickly went to the helmet and Hiccup picked it up, inspecting it. To their surprise, the helmet was intact, except a small scratch on the side. "I won." Hiccup quickly said at which Astrid punched his shoulder.

"You didn't really think that I was serious about our bet." She said with a small smile.

"I figured that much, but it's nice to win in front of Astrid Hofferson." Hiccup stated proudly.

"Shut up!" Was the only answer Astrid gave as she punched him again and left the forge with Stormfly. As Hiccup quickly followed her outside, he was blinded by sudden outburst of sunlight, but after a few seconds his eyes adjusted and he noticed Astrid a little further waiting for him.

"What do you plan to do the rest of the day, milady?" Hiccup asked approaching her.

"What do you want to do?" She asked back.

"To sleep."

"Are you really that tired?"

"I hammered Toothless's scales all night in an infernal heat, so yes, I am really that tired."

"You certainly are grumpy..." Astrid said under her breath.

"I heard that!"

"So you really want to go to the inn and sleep all day?"

"That's the plan." Hiccup responded at which Astrid made a loud sigh. They quickly got at the inn and received a room. The innkeeper already knew them and every time they would visit he would give them the same room. It was like their second home, Hiccup even had a few drawings on the walls and a few schemes. As they entered the room, Hiccup quickly took his shoes off and got in bed.

"Now what am I going to do all day?" Astrid asked a little annoyed looking at him. Hiccup didn't said anything but raised the blanket and made a sign for her to come sit near him. "You want me to sleep all day?"

"If you don't have anything better to do." He responded at which Astrid sighed, but then she complied. They lay there in silence for a few minutes until Astrid said.

"I can't sleep."

"Sure you can." Hiccup responded sleepily, not even opening his eyes.

"No, I can't."

"Close your eyes."

"Hiccup, I don't want to sleep."

"Just close your eyes." Hiccup said again and Astrid complied this time. He took the lack of response from Astrid as a sign that she is now listening to him.

"Now imagine you are by a river and you are watching it flow. You are watching the blue water flow downhill to a..."

"A forest." Astrid said after a few seconds of pause.

"Exactly. A forest. And in the forest is green and filled with all kinds of trees and plants and there also are a lot of wild animals and..."

"And dragons." Astrid said again after the small pause, a little annoyed this time.

"Yes, dragons. And they were in are in a lot of different shapes and colors and..."

"And you really don't want to talk, do you?" Astrid asked, getting slightly annoyed and amused by his fatigue.

"I just want to sleep, please Astrid." The girl sighed again and turned around until she was facing Hiccup. Since she wasn't tired, she just looked at him, exploring the small details of his face since she had nothing better to do. He looked so calm and relaxed, until he suddenly opened his eyes, making Astrid flinch. "Could you please be so kind to stop staring at me while I try to sleep?" Hiccup asked a little annoyed.

"Well I'm not tired, what am I supposed to do?"

"Let me sleep?" Hiccup began to say. "I would really appreciate it."

"But then whose ass am I supposed to kick today at training?" Astrid asked trying to challenge him.

"I will make up to you. Later, or tomorrow."

"But Hiccup..."

"I promise."

"Fine!" Astrid said annoyed as she got up from bed and quickly exited the room, leaving Hiccup to rest.

The girl spent the next few hours walking though the village, talking to different traders and visitors, she even punched a visitor that tried to flirt with her, later she tested a few weapons 'freshly' forged, but in all that time she felt somehow bored. In most of those situations Hiccup could have made a few sarcastic comments or his attitude could have made things different. She finally decided to go back to the inn to wake him up. She filled a bucked with water and entered the room, slowly approaching him. At the sound of the door closing, Hiccup subconsciously turned around to the noise, but he was still sleeping, the only difference it made is that Astrid can now see his face, he looked calm, comfy, and tired. Really tired. After almost three hours of sleep, he still looked like he worked three days in a row without taking a break or having any rest. Astrid looked at the bucket of water that she was prepared to throw at him and then she looked back at him. She couldn't wake him up like this, not now, he worked all night to make that helmet of his while she slept, he had every reason to be tired. She slowly put the bucket down, near the bed and slowly pushed him so that she could lie next to him.

"Now you want to sleep?" Hiccup slowly asked, a little drowsy, after he made some room for her.

"You have a problem with that?"

"Not at all, milady." Hiccup responded with a small smile embracing her. He quickly fell back asleep followed by Astrid soon after.

They were still sleeping a few hours later when Cuyler entered the room. "I thought I might find you here." He said noticing the teens sleeping, but after he saw no reaction from them, he slowly approached the bed and grabbed the bucket with water that was near it and with a quick move, he threw the water on them, waking them up.

"What in Hel's name is your...Dad." Astrid began to swear but she quickly stopped when she saw her father with the bucket in hand.

"I figured you two would be here." Cuyler said.

"You really had to throw a bucket of water at us?" Hiccup asked annoyed.

"Since it was near the bed, I thought, why not?"

"What was a bucket of water doing near the bed, Astrid?" Hiccup asked, now looking annoyed at her.

"Don't blame me, I didn't throw the water." She quickly responded.

"But you brought the bucket!"

"That's not the point!"

"Would you two stop arguing? Hiccup, there is somebody looking for you." Cuyler interrupted them.

"For me? Who?" Hiccup asked surprised.

"A girl."

"Why?"

"Exactly, why is a girl looking for him?" Astrid said looking menacing at Hiccup.

"She said she wants to talk to Fáfnir." Cuyler said leaving the room.

"How does she know that Fáfnir is here?" Hiccup asked under his breath.

"Do you mind telling me who is this girl?" Astrid asked annoyed.

"To be honest, I have no idea."

"You better have no idea who she is." Astrid said getting up and waiting for Hiccup near the door. They quickly left the inn and followed Cuyler to the market. With the helmet under his arm, Hiccup thought it would be a good idea to start hiding his face from unknown persons or visitors, so he quickly equipped the helmet. Astrid looked a little surprised at him but decided not to question his motives, not yet at least. After they reached the market, a young girl, about their age approached them. She had green eyes, black hair and a figure somewhat like Astrid, but she was a little shorter and slimmer. The clothes she wore had a few patches on them, so she was from a poor family or village and she also had a small bag on her back.

"You must be Fáfnir." She said after a few moments hesitation.

"Depends who's asking." Hiccup responded, being careful about the whole situation. This could be very well another bounty hunter here to kill him.

"My name is Heather." She quickly said looking slightly panicked at them.

"And with what can I help you?" Hiccup asked after another small pause.

"Well, my village has heard stories about a dragon tamer and how he can control dragons..."

"I don't control them, they act on their own." Hiccup interrupted her.

"But then how did you make a dragon eat a man?"

"I killed that man, the dragons had nothing to do with it. And the dragon broke the other guy's arm to protect me."

"How did you have a dragon to protect you?"

"First you have to win their..."

"Wait a few seconds, why do you care how he made that dragon protect him?" Astrid quickly interrupted them.

"Our small village is constantly raided by dragons and we need to do something to stop them. We can't fight them off since we are poor and can't afford to buy or manufacture good weapons, and we can't extend on the other side of the island since the forest are filled with wild animals and other dragons." Heather responded with a sad voice, looking on the ground.

"And how could we help you with that?" Hiccup asked.

"Can I be your apprentice?" Heather quickly asked dropping on her knees. "Please! I need to learn how to stop the dragons, to help my village."

"Wait, what?" Hiccup asked shocked, taking a few steps backs in surprise. Astrid and her father were also looking with the same surprised expression at her.

"If I can communicate with dragons maybe they will leave my village alone. Please!"

"I...Don't...Stand up for Thor's sake." Hiccup said helping Heather to stand up and looking around to make sure they didn't attract to many unwanted eyes.

"So will you make me your apprentice?" Heather asked with excitement looking at him.

"I...How bad is the dragon problem in your village?"

"They are raiding almost every week. But we are poor and we almost have food for ourselves."

"Well...Wait here." Hiccup said before he turned around to talk with Astrid. "What do we do?"

"Well, you are the leader." Astrid gave an indifferent answer.

"I don't...Why are you mad again?" Hiccup said.

"Don't you find the situation a little fishy? Nobody ever wanted to deal with Fáfnir and now there is someone that wants his help. I don't trust her."

"It seems fishy, but what if there is someone who finally understood that dragons can be friends and not foes? We can't just ignore an opportunity like this."

"Well, it's your call."

"I...Wh-What do you mean 'it's my call'? We are a team. We have been a team for almost half a year. I don't want to make decisions like this on my own..."

"Listen, I have faith that you will make the right decision. And remember, I will always be by your side, whatever the outcome." Astrid said grabbing his shoulders so that he would look at her.

"Thanks Astrid." Hiccup responded with a small smile, she only noticed his smile from his eyes. In their time together, she noticed that Hiccup had the ability to make good decisions, but his insecurity always had been a problem, a lot less lately, but he was still not confident enough to make the big calls, even if he knew the right way, he just needed a little 'push', so that's what she did. After a few seconds of thinking, Hiccup slowly turned around and faced Heather. "We will visit your village tomorrow to see the dragon problem for ourselves, then we will decide if we can help you and how. Meet us tomorrow morning here."

"Thank you! Thank you very much!" Heather said with a big smile on her face, trying to contain her excitement. The others slowly turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the market.

"Are you sure about this?" Astrid asked.

"Not really. But if we manage to fix their dragon problem then we might win another village for our cause. If there is indeed a dragon problem." Hiccup responded.

"What are we going to do if there isn't a dragon problem?"

"We will go with Toothless and Stormfly to the village while Cuyler stays hidden with Bein and to help us in case something happens. How does that sound?"

"I'm fine with this plan." Cuyler answered.

"But what if that won't be enough?"

"Then we will also bring Skuller and Nubs with us."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following day Astrid and Hiccup came into the market with their dragons at an early hour. They were hoping to buy some fruits before most villagers would wake up so that they could have a wider variety to choose from. When they finally entered the market, they saw Heather sleeping near a small empty stall, they both looked surprised at her until Hiccup finally spoke.

"Heather?" Hiccup asked approaching her.

"What?" She asked in return, with a sleepy voice.

"You slept here?" Astrid asked, joining the conversation.

"Fáfnir!" Heather said a little too loud before quickly covering her mouth with both hands and looking a little scared and apologetically at them.

"You slept here?" Hiccup asked again, getting her attention.

"Uhm...Yes..." She answered with hesitation.

"Why?" Astrid asked.

"I don't have how to pay for a room at the inn..."

"And why didn't you say something before?"

"I didn't want to ask for too much because I was afraid that you will think I am looking for pity..."

"But you want us to help you with your dragon problem?" Astrid asked.

"I am doing that for my village. I won't ask for help for things I can take care on my own."

"You slept outside on a freezing night!" Hiccup yelled at her.

"Thats...Just...Can we just go to my village, please?" Heather asked getting up and looking sad at them.

"Do you have any weapons?" Astrid asked.

"I have a knife..." Heather answered pulling out a small, rusted blade.

"When was the last time you ate?" Hiccup asked a little annoyed.

"That is not important, I can still be..."

"When?" Hiccup asked again, with a serious tone.

"Two days ago..." Heather answered, looking sad on the ground.

"For Thor's sake..." Astrid muttered. She nudged Hiccup. "Go and bring her a fur cloak or something, it will be cold when we are flying." Astrid said.

"Flying? You mean with dragons?" Heather asked back almost terrified.

"I will go with her to the inn and get her something to eat." Astrid said ignoring her question.

"But I am not hungry. Let's just finish the dragon problem before. Please..."

"We are not going anywhere until you eat something." Astrid said, grabbing Heather and dragging her to the inn. They quickly arrived and Astrid began to search for the innkeeper, when she finally found him, she grabbed Heather and brought her to him. "What do you want to eat?" Astrid asked her.

"Uhm...A loaf of bread, please." Heather said with hesitation.

"You haven't eaten in two days and all you want is a loaf of bread?" Astrid asked her with an annoyed expression.

"I-I'm not that hungry..."

"If you keep eating like this you will die of starvation."

"Is not like I have a choice..."

"You don't have a choice?!" Astrid asked surprised and equally annoyed before quickly going after the innkeeper. "Can you please add an entire bread and three small fishes to that order? I will pay."

"Wait, no. You can't do that!" Heather quickly said.

"Watch me!"

"You are already helping me with the dragon problem, I can't ask for more."

"Listen, first we need to get to your island and we need you alive and well in order to do that. And the fact that they sent you, their final hope, to find us and you didn't even have enough silver to buy food, meant that your village is also poor, so we will bring a few baskets of food with us, as a sign of good faith."

"Would you really do that?" Heather asked after a small pause, looking shocked at Astrid.

"Of course. But first, you need to eat. We don't want you to pass out or something."

"Thank you!" Heather said before grabbing Astrid in a tight hug. Astrid was surprised by her sudden action and after a few seconds, she hugged her back.

"You're welcome."

"You have no idea how much this means." Heather said with small tears in her eyes, slowly releasing Astrid. "I don't even know how to repay you guys. The fact that you are helping us with dragons means a lot, but to even bring food with you for the village, that is more than I could've possibly asked. Thank you!"

"Well, dragons aren't that bad. Some of them are a little too paranoid for their own good, but most of them are friendly if you show no intention to hurt them. We can bring some dragons with us that will remain in your village to help you with fishing and hunting." Astrid said and Heather grabbed her in another hug, she could hear Heather slowly sob on her shoulder, but those weren't tears of sadness, those were tears of gratitude.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


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